What If
by Piper Elizabeth
Summary: After Dr. Mike starts thinking about a simple question Sully asked her after she was abducted by the dog soldiers, she starts to question Sully's love for her. After she is kidnapped, however, they must come to rely on each other's love.
1. Chapter 1

Title: What If?

Summary: After Dr. Mike starts thinking about a simple question Sully asked her after she was abducted by the dog soldiers, she starts to question Sully's love for her. After she is kidnapped, however, they must come to rely on each other's love. (This story takes place right after Cooper vs. Quinn.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Dr. Quinn or any of its affiliated characters.

**Chapter 1**

Michaela watched her youngest son wave goodbye to the stage coach. His smile was stretched ear to ear, his hand waving frantically in the air. Other children stood around him, all waving. She knew that they were both sad and excited to see their classmate go. Rose was the oldest student in the red schoolhouse and she had learned all that the reverend could teach her. She was headed to New York to go to a teacher's college so that she could learn how to spread her knowledge to others. Michaela knew that the other students would miss her since she had become as much of a teacher to them all as the reverend was. Rose helped students before and after school and was able to explain difficult concepts that the reverend had trouble with since his background was in the lord and not in schooling. Michaela silently thanked the girl for helping Brian on more than one occasion with his homework. Michaela mentally berated herself for not being there to help her son more with his schoolwork but she also knew that he would rather have learned it from Rose, who was more patient and better at teaching such concepts.

Michaela watched the stagecoach roll down the main street in town, the dust kicking up under the horses hooves. The children ran behind it, continuously waving and shouting. They ran until the stagecoach was out of sight.

Brian turned back and walked over to the clinic where Michaela stood, his head hanging low.

"Sad that she's leaving, Brian?" Michaela asked. She ruffled his hair as he stepped beside her.

"Yes. She was a good teacher."

"Well, that's why she's leaving, to become a better teacher."

"Think she'll come back, ma?"

"Oh, I'm sure she'll come back one day to see her family and to visit all of her friends."

"What's New York like?"

"I don't know, Brian. I've never been there. But, I imagine it can't be much different than Boston."

"Ya mean lots of buildings and people and fancy things."

"Something like that."

"Think she'll like it there?"

"I'm sure it will take some getting used to but I'm sure that she'll love it because she'll be doing something that she loves to do."

"Just like when you came here from Boston."

"That's right."

"I hope she comes back real soon."

Michaela smiled at him. She knew that Rose had taken a personal liking to Brian, as did many people. Brian had a magic touch that made people instantly love him. After all, it had worked on Michaela when they first met, before she had even taken him into her care.

"Besides," Brian said, "If she stays gone too long, people might not like what's left of her when she comes back."

Michaela looked at him inquisitively. "Why do you say that?"

"That's what the people were sayin' when you was taken by those dog soldiers."

"Who said that?"

"Dunno. Everyone." Brian noticed the saddened look that came over Michaela's face. "What is it, ma? What's the matter?"

"Brian, that isn't something that you say when someone leaves."

"Then how come they were all sayin' it when you were taken? What does it mean, ma?"

"Well, Brian…" Michaela stuttered, unsure of how she was going to explain it to him. "When people go away, it's usually a happy thing."

"You mean, Rose is happy that she's leavin'?"

"Well, yes…and no. She's happy that she gets to go to New York and go to school to become a teacher but she's not happy that she has to leave all the people she loves and Colorado Springs. But…that's not really what I meant."

"What do ya mean?"

Michaela sighed. "When the dog soldiers kidnapped me, Brian, I was in danger. They could have hurt me."

"Like shot ya or something?"

"Yes. They could have shot me or something that's equally as terrible. And sometimes, when something that terrible happens to a person, that person changes and is different from before they were taken."

"But you're not different, ma."

"No, no I'm not. But the dog soldiers didn't hurt me, Brian."

"But they coulda."

"Yes, they could have."

"But Sully saved ya."

"Yes, Sully saved me."

"Even if they had hurt ya, ma, I'd still want you back…everyone would. Me, Colleen, Matthew, and Sully. Even if ya changed."

Michaela smiled. "Thank you, Brian."

"'Cause no matter what, you'll always be my ma."

"And you will always be my son." She hugged him. "Now, why don't you run off and see if you can find your sister and then we'll head home."

Brian began to run off but he turned. "Is Sully comin' for supper tonight, ma?"

"He's visiting with Cloud Dancing but I'm sure he'll be back in time for supper. Why?"

"I wanna show him what I been carvin'." Brian pulled a wooden object from his pocket. Michaela smiled to herself, having no idea what the wood was supposed to be. She admired Brian for trying the difficult art of carving but she hoped that he wouldn't get too disappointed if he wasn't very good at it.

"I'm sure he'll love it," she assured him.

Brian smiled and ran off. Michaela looked down at her hands, not noticing that she had been wringing them since Brian had asked her about what it meant to not want what was left of someone. Michaela wondered who had started saying such things about her when she was missing. She knew that whoever said it was talking about Sully not wanting what was left of her. It made her wonder if Sully had been thinking the same thing while she had been missing.

They had never really discussed what had happened to her. When Sully found her, he just asked if they had hurt her and when she assured him that they hadn't, he seemed content enough. What if she had told them that they had hurt her? Would they have shared that passionate kiss? Would he have asked her to marry him? Would he even still be there with them all or would he have been so disgusted by her that he would have left? Michaela thought of the children, knowing how attached Brian had gotten to him. As she walked back into the clinic, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if her simple no had been a simple yes.

That night, Michaela stood at a bucket of warm water. Her fingers were beginning to prune from being in the water for so long and yet, she had only managed to wash one dish. She had sent Colleen and Brian to bed, even though it was relatively early for their bedtime. Brian had protested but Colleen, knowing that Michaela had asked them to go to bed so that she could talk with Sully, ushered Brian out of the room and into the barn. Sully sat at the wooden table, sipping his coffee, staring at Michaela. He couldn't help but stare at her at times when she wouldn't notice. He caught himself staring at her all the time, thanking the gods for sending him the love of his life.

"Dinner was wonderful, as usual," Sully complimented.

"Yes, it was," Michaela agreed. "Colleen really outdid herself."

Michaela began washing a bowl but her mind was far from the precious dish in her hand.

"Something botherin' ya, Michaela?"

"No, why do you ask?" She began to wash the dishes more frantically, suddenly realizing how long she had been standing there without really accomplishing anything.

"You've been awfully quiet tonight."

"I just had a long day at the clinic."

Sully stood and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands in the water on top of hers. He took the cloth that she was using to wash the dishes from her hands.

"I'll finish these," he whispered in her ear, caressing her fingertips with his own.

Michaela's skin tingled where he touched her and his breath on her ear sent a pleasurable shiver up her spine. She loved and hated that he could do that to her with just a touch or a word. She knew that no man, even David, ever had that effect on her and she knew that no man ever would. Michaela reluctantly took her hands from the water, not wanting to take her hands from his. She tried to get by Sully's arms that were enclosed around her but he would not let her go.

"Sully."

"What's the password?" She smiled, turned to face him, and kissed him lightly on the lips. He did not lift his arms. "Close," he replied, smiling.

Michaela stood on her tiptoes and kissed him more deeply. She was surprised at her own boldness. It had taken her so long to get used to being with Sully in such an intimate way. Usually it was he who had to kiss her first and she usually stopped him before it became too serious. Recently, however, she was feeling a need to be with him and she couldn't help herself.

As they kissed, Sully took his hands from the water and touched her lower back.

"Sully!" She yelled playfully, as she felt the wet handprints sink through the fabric of her dress.

"Password accepted." He lifted his arms and Michaela separated herself from between him and the bucket. She picked up an extra rag and began wiping down the table.

"Brian was really excited that you agreed to help him with his carving," Michaela said. "I'm impressed that you even knew what it was that he was carving. I hadn't figured it out."

"When I was a boy, I carved somethin' that looked a lot like what Brian did."

"What was it supposed to be?"

"A buffalo. Turned out lookin' more like a bowl." Michaela laughed as she put the coffee pot back on the stove. "Took me a long time to get real good. I carved quite a few bowls in my life before I actually got it to look like an animal."

"Well, hopefully Brian won't be too disappointed if his looks more like a bowl than a wolf."

"He'll get the hang of it. Besides, I never had a pa to teach me but he does." Michaela smiled, remembering how close they came to losing both Colleen and Brian not too long ago to their real pa. Michaela wasn't sure how she would have been able to survive without waking up to their smiling faces every morning.

Michaela grabbed a towel and began drying the dishes as Sully washed them. As she watched him, she thought back to what Brian had told her earlier. Should she ask Sully about it? She didn't want to make him angry but she also wasn't sure if she would able to keep it to herself. She had to know what Sully would have done if she had said yes.

"Sully…," she began.

"Michaela…," he said at the same time.

"Go ahead," she quickly replied, glad that she wouldn't have to ask him.

"What do you say we take a ride tomorrow?" Sully asked.

"A ride?"

"Yeah. Jus' me and you. Won't even take Wolf with us. We can take our horses out somewhere nice. Have a little picnic. Spend some time together."

"It's February, Sully."

"Yeah but there's been quite a warm spell recently. The weather's been real nice."

"What about the children?"

"Matthew'll drop 'em off at school in the mornin' and then they can help out Grace at her café until we get back."

"I don't know, Sully. I hate to…"

"I already talked to Grace. She said it'd be fine."

Michaela smiled, knowing that Sully had put some serious thought into their possible excursion.

"What about my patients?"

"You don't have any patients tomorrow. I already checked with Colleen. She made sure that your day was clear."

Michaela couldn't help but smile again. Neither could Sully. He knew that she couldn't refuse him.

"What if someone were to become ill or get shot?"

Sully sighed, knowing that Michaela would come up with any excuse. He knew that it wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with him but that she genuinely worried about the people in the town and that she had her own fears about their intimacy.

"If we tell Matthew where we're goin' so that he can come get ya if somethin' goes wrong, will ya go?"

Michaela knew that she had no choice. She did love him and wanted nothing more than to spend time with him but she also worried about things at home and she wondered what her mother would say if she found out. In Boston, even if a man and woman were engaged hey did not go horseback riding for an entire day by themselves, without a chaperone. Michaela tried to get her mother's voice out of her head as she thought that the picnic would be the perfect time for her to ask Sully about her being abducted by the dog soldiers.

"Well, what do ya say?" Sully asked. She nodded to him. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "What were you gonna say before we started talkin' 'bout the picnic?"

Michaela had forgotten that she was going to ask him about the abduction before he had asked her to go riding with him. "Oh, nothing."

"Ya sure?"

"Yes, it was nothing." He scrubbed the last dish and placed it on the table to dry.

"Well, I best be off," he said, drying his hands. He kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight and I'll see ya tomorrow. No backin' out."

"No backing out," she promised him.

He kissed her lightly on the lips and left. Leaving was the one thing he hated doing. He wished that he could stay with her all night even though he knew that it wasn't proper. He hated to think that while he was sleeping in his lean-to, something could happen like the day that lightning had hit the barn. He wanted to be there for her and the children and, more than anything, he wanted to sleep with Michaela wrapped in his arms. He knew that the time would come, however, when they would be able to fall asleep together every night for the rest of their lives. He only wished that the day wasn't so far away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I'll race you to those trees," Michaela said as she and Sully trotted side by side on their horses. As Sully said, the weather had held and it was an unnaturally warm February afternoon. They had been riding all morning, enjoying the sights of the countryside, as well as each other's company.

Sully smiled. "I thought ya said you were hungry."

"We'll eat after we race," she replied.

He couldn't help but smile again. He was glad that she was becoming much more comfortable with him as the days wore on. Sometimes she even shocked him with her girlishness. Everyone in town saw Michaela as an outspoken woman but Sully knew that inside of her was a free spirit that just wanted to have fun, even if she didn't show it nearly enough.

Sully pulled on the reins of his horse and stopped him. Michaela did the same. They lined up beside each other. He reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"On the count of three," he said, staring into her eyes. He still held tightly to her hand while her free hand gripped the reins. "One…" She prepared to kick off, wondering if Sully was going to let go of her hand. "Two…" She tried to wriggle free from his grasp, knowing that he was planning some kind of scheme. As he began to say three, he dropped his reins and reached both arms over to wrap around her waste. Before the word three came completely out of his mouth, he lifted Michaela off the saddle of her horse and she landed in front of him on his own horse. Although she was shocked, she was laughing. Sully kicked off and they went racing towards the trees. Flash just stood where Michaela left him, bent his head down, and began eating the thick grass that surrounded him.

Sully slowed down as he reached the trees that they were to race to. When the horse stopped, Sully slid off and helped Michaela down.

"Sully!" She exclaimed, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. "We were supposed to race."

"Well, this way, we both won." He smiled and kissed her.

"We both could have been hurt," she told him.

"But we weren't." She smiled to herself, knowing that Sully would never hurt her.

"Yes, but all of the picnic food was slung over Flash's saddle. Now someone has to go back and get it."

Without a hesitation, Sully hopped back on his horse and quickly rode back to where Flash was happily eating. He grabbed Flash's reins and led him back to where Michaela stood. Sully stared at her as he approached. Her hair was down and windswept from the ride. He had never thought her more beautiful as when she looked like that.

Michaela began taking the food from Flash's saddle as Sully set up a blanket on the ground. They set up for the picnic in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Sully tied the horses to nearby trees and they happily grazed on the grass. Michaela and Sully sat beside each other on the blanket, Sully's hand protectively over hers.

"It's a beautiful day," Michaela commented, staring up at the blue sky.

"The sky's not the only thing that's beautiful," Sully replied. Michaela blushed and self-consciously looked down at the food that was spread out in front of them.

"The food looks wonderful." Sully had shown up at Michaela's door that morning with the picnic food already prepared and ready. She had a feeling that Grace had helped him out a bit but it was the thought that counted.

"Would you like a strawberry?" Sully picked one up and held it out to her. When she reached for it, he did not let it go. Instead, he brought it to her lips and she bit into it. A dribble of strawberry juice ran down her chin. Sully brushed it away with his finger and then brought it to his own mouth to taste. For a second time, she blushed.

"It's good," she complimented when she finished chewing and swallowing it. Sully pulled a number of sandwiches from the basket that he had brought.

"Planning on feeding an army?" She asked.

"Just not sure what ya was in the mood for." Sully laid all of the sandwiches in front of her. "We've got raspberry jam, turkey, and peanut butter. What's your pleasure?"

"Raspberry please." Sully handed her the sandwich and she thanked him. As she brought the sandwich to her mouth, she heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. She quickly looked at the spot where she heard the sound but she did not see anything.

"Somethin' wrong?" Sully asked, seeing her turn.

"Thought I heard something," she answered.

Sully looked at the same spot. "I don't see nothin'."

"Must have been an animal," she replied, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

As they ate they talked about their upcoming wedding, the children, and some of the townspeople. Even though Michaela had once wondered if her and Sully had enough in common to make their relationship work, she no longer doubted it. They could waste hours just talking to one another about anything under the sun.

"Everything was delicious," Michaela said as she finished the last bite of her blueberry pie. "Grace certainly knows how to pack a picnic." Michaela teased, knowing that Sully was trying to pass off the cooking for his own.

"How'd ya know?"

"Because you live in a lean-to where you don't have so much as a pie tin."

"I seem to recall someone comin' here and not knowin' how to make a pie, neither." Michaela smiled, remembering when she first arrived at Colorado Springs, not knowing how to do anything for herself. She probably would have died, or quit, if it hadn't been for Sully and the children.

"I don't seem to be very good at making a pie anymore now than I did when I first got here," Michaela reminded him.

"Well, that makes two of us." He leaned over and kissed her, savoring the taste of blueberries that lingered in her mouth. "Besides, Grace may have cooked the food but I told her what to put in the basket." Michaela smiled.

"Well, you did a very good job," Michaela complimented.

This time it was Sully who felt his cheeks turn red.

"Ya wanna go for a walk?" He asked.

Michaela nodded. Sully stood and reached his hand out to her. She took it and he helped her stand.

"We should clean up first," Michaela decided.

"We'll do it when we get back."

"But the animals will get at it and…"

"Ya need to stop worryin', Michaela." He took her by the hand and began walking into the woods before she could stop him. They began walking along a small stream that Sully said went through the whole forest. He told her that it was the smallest stream he had ever seen with such a strong current. As Michaela looked into the bubbling water, she remembered the thing that she had made herself promise that she would ask him. She couldn't help but think of when she and Sully had jumped from the cliff into the cold water below to escape the dog soldiers. Neither of them knew if they would survive the fall but they knew that if they didn't jump, they wouldn't have survived. The water had saved them then. She wondered if the water of the small stream could save her now.

"Ya alright?" Sully asked. Michaela, snapped from her memory, looked up at him. She realized that she had stopped walking and that Sully had stopped talking about the small stream.

"Sully…I…I have to ask you something."

"Alright." She didn't respond. As she thought about how to word her question, something she had thought about all night, she heard the sound of a twig breaking. Immediately she stared off into the forest.

"Did you hear that?" Michaela questioned.

"Probably just a dear getting' a drink from the stream," Sully answered. Michaela knew that he was probably right but she couldn't help but feeling as if something or someone was out there, watching them.

"What were ya gonna ask me?" Sully asked. When she didn't respond, he took her hand and kissed it lightly. "Ya can ask me anything, Michaela, ya know that."

She nodded. She knew that she could ask him anything but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"When I was taken, Sully," she began, "taken by the dog soldiers…when…when you found me and took me to the mountain where I woke up…you…you asked me something."

"What did I ask you?" Michaela was almost shocked that he didn't remember. Then again, why should she be shocked? If he didn't remember, did it mean that he wouldn't have remembered even if she had said yes? Or, did it mean that he didn't remember because she said no and that, if she had said yes, it would be the one thing that he did remember about her?

"You asked me…you asked me if they, the dog soldiers, if they hurt me."

Sully wasn't exactly sure what she was getting at and he didn't know how to reply.

"And they didn't," he said.

"No, they didn't thanks to Cloud Dancing's son."

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

"I wanted to ask you…" she paused. "I wanted to ask you what would have happened if I had said yes."

Sully let go of her hand. "Why are you asking me that?"

That wasn't exactly the response Michaela was expecting. Just as he had no answer for her, she had no answer for him.

"Brian told me yesterday afternoon that, when I had been taken, some of the townsfolk were saying that you wouldn't want what was left of me if you found me."

"Who said that?"

"Brian said everyone was saying it. I just…I had to know if…if you were saying it, too."

"Oh Michaela."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did but I…I have to know, Sully."

"Michaela, I love you. I will always love you."

"But what if I had said yes? What if they had hurt me? Would you still have asked me to marry you? Would we be here today on this picnic? Would you still love me in the same way?"

Sully reached for her hand once more. He held it tightly between his own two hands. How many times had he thought about how perfectly her hand fit in his? How many times had he known when he felt her skin that he would love her forever? The moment Michaela had told him that she had not been hurt by the dog soldiers, he put the moment behind him. He never thought about it again. He wondered then if thinking about it would have brought him to the same question that Michaela had just asked him. Part of him wanted to be angry with her for thinking that he did not love her enough but another part of him suddenly realized that he did not have a response for her. He did not know how he would have reacted if she had said yes.

"Michaela, I love you and my love grows everyday. No matter what happens, the one thing that I know is that you will be there right next to me, lovin' me as I love you. Would we be standin' here if you had told me yes on that day?" He sighed. "I just don't know." He could see the tears in her eyes and he kissed her hand. "Michaela, maybe we'd be here or maybe we'd be at the homestead or maybe you'd be at the clinic and I'd be talkin' with Robert E at the livery. I just don't know. What I do know is that I love you. Ya can't think about the past. Ya can't go through life wonderin' what if or it'll just ruin what's right in front of ya. If it had happened, would things be different? Maybe but that's not the point, Michaela. The point is that it didn't happen so we don't ever have to worry about it."

She could feel the tears stinging her eyes but she would not cry. She envied his ability to forget the past and just move on. Hadn't he told her the same thing when David had come back? She had to let him go because he was in the past. She knew that he was right. She couldn't live her life wondering what if and, if she did, she could very well lose Sully.

"Ya alright?" Sully asked her, after a moment of silence.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm sorry that I asked you."

He brought his hand to her chin and raised her head so that she looked him in the eye. He could see the tears swelling in her beautiful eyes but he also knew that she was too proud to cry. He had seen her cry so many times but he knew that she sometimes needed to hide it from him and he would let her.

"Ya don't have to ever be sorry 'bout askin' me somethin'. That's one of the things I love most about ya."

"What's that?"

"You ain't afraid to speak your mind or ask questions…even if it gets ya inta trouble."

She couldn't help but smiling, unable to count the number of times that her mouth had gotten her, or them, into trouble.

"You can always ask me anythin' that's troublin' ya."

"I love you," she said to him.

"I love you, too." He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head as the sky above them grumbled.

"Sounds like it might storm," Michaela said.

Sully looked at the sky. "The clouds are gettin' awfully dark."

"Maybe we should head back."

He nodded and they begin walking together hand in hand, following the little stream. The sky became steadily darker as they walked, the clouds turning a dark grey. The rumbling of lightning grew closer. The air became significantly colder.

As Michaela and Sully reached their horses, sheets of rain fell and soaked them immediately. Michaela frantically began putting away the contents of their picnic, knowing that they shouldn't have neglected the chore in the first place before they had taken their walk. Sully watched her, amused. As she raced to her horse, her arms full of the soaked blanket and sopping wet food, her feet slipped on the slick grass and she fell forward. Sully couldn't help but laugh out loud as the things she held in her arms flew everywhere. He walked over to her, his wet hair plastered to his face, and held out his hand. As she took it, and he helped her stand, she laughed.

"Ya know what this reminds me of?" Sully asked her as they stood facing each other, their clothing equally soaked and Michaela's newly stained with grass.

"What?" She shouted over the sound of the rain and the thunder that seemed to be getting closer at every moment.

"Thanksgivin'," he replied.

Michaela remembered the moment vividly. It had been one of the happiest she remembered since her arrival at Colorado Springs. Despite the draught, nothing could have been better. Sully standing in the rain, his arms outstretched to her made the moment all the more special.

"We sure could use a drought now," Michaela joked, being to feel the cold that the rain caused on her skin.

Sully saw her shiver. "Come on, we should get goin'." Michaela began picking up the blanket. "Leave it, we'll come back for it in the mornin' when it stops stormin'." Michaela nodded. As Michaela put her foot in the stirrup to boost herself onto Flash's back, a crack of thunder roared directly above them. The horse bucked and Michaela fell with Sully breaking her fall onto the wet ground.

"Ya alright?" He asked her, another thunder cracking above them. The two horses were going wild with fright.

"Fine, you?" Michaela questioned, getting off of him.

"I'm okay. It's too dangerous to try to ride the horses outta here."

"What are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna have to find shelter somewhere."

"Can't we walk?"

"It's too far. You'll freeze before we get there."

"What about the children? They'll be worried."

"They'll figure that we found shelter somewhere. Besides, Matthew's with 'em, they'll be fine." If the thunder could have gotten any louder, it did, this time followed by the brightest bolt of lightening Michaela had ever seen. Suddenly, she was shivering from fear rather than cold.

"What about the horses?"

"They'll find their own shelter. They're just scared. They'll be fine once the storm's over and then we can find 'em. We gotta go find something, Michaela before that lightning strikes down right in fron' of us."

She nodded and he grabbed her hand. Sully tried to remember seeing anything on their walk that they could use for shelter. He couldn't remember seeing any caves and he knew that the forest was not the best place to hide during a lightning storm. He felt Michaela's hand shivering in his and he hoped that they would be able to at least find somewhere where he could build a fire to warm her. The storm had come up fast and he cursed himself for not noticing the signs and getting them home before their time together had been ruined.

"Sully!" Michaela yelled over the sound of the rain. The thunder and lightning had calmed considerably but it had become windier and the sound was deafening. Sully stopped and looked at her. She was pointing to the sky. He looked at where she was pointing and saw smoke rising. "Think it's a homestead?"

"Maybe some travelin' cowboys," he suggested.

"Think they have shelter?"

"Only one way to find out."

Sully began walking to where the smoke was coming from. As he took a step, he heard the sound of something he knew all too well. A gun ready to shoot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Brian looked out the window of the homestead for what seemed like the tenth time in the last half hour.

"I told ya, Brian, they probably decided to find shelter somewhere 'cause the horses got spooked," Matthew told him.

"But what if ma got thrown off Flash or…?"

"Then Sully'd take care of her," Colleen assured him.

"They told ya where they were going, Matthew. Why don't you go look for 'em?" Brian begged.

"'Cause they probably ain't there no more, Brian. I told ya, they probably went off lookin' for shelter," Matthew answered.

"Ya still could go look for 'em," Brian begged.

"Stop worrying, Brian, everything's fine," Colleen assured him. She walked over to the window and placed a hand on her younger brother's shoulder. She admired his ability to care about people the way that he did.

"Ya better come and eat your dinner 'fore it gets cold," Matthew told him.

Brian walked over to the table and sat, pushing his carrots around with his fork. Colleen sat beside him, unable to help but worrying about her ma and Sully, as well even though she knew that Matthew was probably right. They were both probably fine but, knowing the trouble her and Sully had gotten into in the past, she couldn't help but worry.

"Matthew," Colleen began, "will you stay in the homestead with us tonight instead of sleepin' in the barn? I mean, Brian might get scared or…"

"I ain't scared!" Brian yelled. "It's just a storm. You're the one that's afraid of storms."

"I ain't afraid…" a thunder bolt cracked above them and Colleen jumped slightly in her seat.

Both Matthew and Brian chuckled.

Matthew knew that either Colleen or Brian would have asked him to stay in the homestead before the night was up. He knew that it wasn't just because Colleen was afraid of storms or that Brian was afraid that something had happened to Michaela and Sully. He knew that they appreciated his company and it made him feel needed.

"Sure," Matthew answered.

Colleen smiled. She knew that there was nothing to worry about but storms had always made her uneasy, especially after the barn had been lit on fire once by a bolt of lightening.

"You think they had a nice time today?" Brian asked, finally putting a carrot into his mouth.

"I'm sure they did," Colleen replied.

"'Sides, it musta been nice for them not to have you kids underfoot," Matthew remarked.

"We ain't underfoot!" Brian yelled.

"And don't forget that you're around, too," Colleen reminded him.

"But I ain't a kid," Matthew retorted.

"Oh yeah?" Brian said. Both he and Colleen stood and began tickling their brother, ignoring the fact that their dinner was getting cold.

"What are y'all doin' here?" A voice shouted.

Both Michaela and Sully stopped in their tracks. Sully instinctively stood in front of Michaela, shielding her with his body.

"We're just passin' through," Sully said, unable to see the man who was speaking, even though he knew that he was standing nearby. The rain made it impossible to see anything.

"You're on private property."

"We're sorry," Michaela said. "We just got caught in the storm and we're just trying to find some shelter."

"Y'all from town?" The man asked.

"Yes," Sully answered. He heard the gun being lowered and he breathed a sigh of relief. The man suddenly took a few steps forward and came into view.

"The name's Warren. Warren Clark. Just moved out here." He shook their hands. "My homestead's just down the road. You're welcome to stay until the storm's over."

"Thank you," Sully said, shaking the man's hand.

They followed Warren in silence, Michaela staying close to Sully. She wanted to ask Warren questions about himself and his homestead, since she had never seen him before, but she knew that he would not hear her through all of the rain and that she should probably wait until they were all inside and dry.

Warren led them to his homestead, which was where the smoke was coming from that Michaela had seen. He ushered Michaela and Sully inside and quickly shut the door behind them all. They both looked the man over, finally able to see him for the first time. He was a middle-aged man, probably ten years older than Sully. His hair was light brown, although darker because of the rain. He was about Sully's height, although much smaller in stature. His clothing suggested that he worked on a farm, perhaps with cattle.

"I'm Sully," Sully introduced, "and my fiancé, Dr. Quinn."

Warren raised his eyebrow, a move that Michaela was all but familiar with. "What kind of doctor are you Ms. Quinn?"

"Please, call me Dr. Mike and I'm a medical doctor," she answered.

"I ain't never met a lady doctor before," he admitted.

"I'm afraid I get that a lot."

"I bet if folks knew that doctors could be as pretty as you, a lot more folk would be gettin' sick."

Michaela smiled. "Well, I hope not."

"We all better get outta these wet clothes 'fore we all catch…" Warren began.

"Pneumonia?" Michaela offered.

"'Fore we all catch pneumonia," he finished.

"I'm afraid we don't got no other clothes," Sully said. "We was just out for a picnic 'fore the storm caught us by surprise so I'm 'fraid we don't got much at all with us."

"Well, that's alrigh'. I got plenty of clothes ta go 'round," he said to Michaela.

Within minutes, Warren had presented clothes for both Sully and Michaela. He had pointed them to different rooms throughout the house and they all changed. He handed Michaela a towel and she let her hair down and began drying it. She knew that it would take hours before it was finally dry but getting some of the moisture out was better than nothing.

Warren had made the fire in the fireplace larger and the heat began to fill the cabin. He sat before the fire on a rocking chair, a mug of coffee in his hand. As Michaela and Sully entered the room simultaneously after changing, Warren asked them to sit with him. Michaela couldn't help but smile at the sight of Sully wearing a button down shirt and dress pants while Sully couldn't help but smile at the sight of Michaela wearing men's clothing. Despite their ridiculousness, they were both happy to be dry and warm. They both helped themselves to coffee and pulled up two chairs next to Warren's by the fire.

"Where are you from, Mr. Clark?" Michaela asked.

"Please, call me Warren," he corrected.

"Alright, Warren," Michaela replied.

"Don't come from nowhere in particular," Warren answered. "I was born in Kansas City but I've lived in Wyoming and Nebraska…all over."

"When'd you move out here?" Sully asked.

"Just last week."

"Wasn't this the old widow Henry's place?" Michaela questioned, having remembered visited the women when she had a rash on her upper arm.

"Don't know, Dr. Mike. Place was for sale last week and I couldn't resist it."

"I wonder what happened to her," Michaela said.

"Maybe she moved," Sully suggested.

"Just seems odd that she wouldn't tell anyone in town," Michaela replied.

"Haven't seen you in town, Warren," Sully remarked.

"'Fraid I haven't had time to get into town yet. I gotta herd of cattle out in the back and they take up most of my time. I've been meanin' to head inta town, though. Gotta get me some supplies and things."

"I'm sure the townspeople would love to meet you," Michaela said.

"Feelin's mutual," Warren responded.

"How many cattle ya got?" Sully questioned.

"About twenty. It's a small herd but it's growin' slowly. Truth is, they're been some robberies happenin' out in these parts. That's why I had the gun when I met you folks. Never know who's out walkin' in the woods."

"I didn't see any cattle when we were outside," Sully observed.

"They tend to graze in the meadows behind the homestead. Too dark to spot 'em."

"My son inherited quite a lot of cattle recently," Michaela said. "They can be a handful."

"Ya don't look old enough to have a son who's of age to be raisin' cattle," Warren commented.

"He's my adopted son," Michaela explained. "Our adopted son." She squeezed Sully's hand. She knew that Matthew was too old to be considered for legal adoption when she and Sully sought to legally adopt Colleen and Brian but she considered him as much as a son as Brian or Colleen and she knew that Sully felt the same way. "His mother left him and his younger brother and sister to me when she died a few years ago."

"Sounds like ya got a nice family."

"We do, thank you," Michaela said. "Do you have a family?"

"Nope," Warren answered quickly. "Just me. Don't know where my pa is and my ma died when I was 'bout eighteen."

"No siblings?" Michaela wondered.

"Just me."

"You never got married?" Sully asked.

"Never found the right woman." This time it was Sully who squeezed Michaela's hand. "What about you folks? When do you plan on gettin' married?"

"Our wedding's in the spring," Michaela answered.

"Not too far away, then."

"No, it isn't," Michaela said as she smiled.

"Doesn't sound like that storm's gonna move on anytime soon," Warren observed.

"No, it doesn't," Sully agreed.

"Ya'll are welcome to stay here the night."

"That's very kind of you," Michaela said.

"Well, I got an extra bed and plenty a' blankets to go 'round."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sully, but I don't have two extra beds."

"That's alright, I'll be fine on the floor of Dr. Mike's room," Sully replied.

"Oh, now we can't have that," Warren interjected.

"I'm sorry?" Sully said.

"A man and woman shall not share a room under my roof 'til they're properly married," Warren explained.

"Sir, I assure you, we…" Sully started.

"That's the rules of this household, Mr. Sully. You're more than welcome to set up some blankets in front of the fire but I shall not allow you and Dr. Mike to sleep in the same room. It just wouldn't be fittin'."

"That's fine, thank you, Warren. Sully will sleep in the front room," Michaela decided.

"Well, now that that's settled. I'll be off to bed, folks. Dr. Mike, your room is right beyond the door on the left. There are extra blankets in the chest beside the fire. Goodnight, my friends."

"Goodnight," Michaela said.

"'Night," Sully repeated.

Warren walked through a door to the right, leaving Michaela and Sully alone in front of the roaring fire.

"Wish you hadn't agreed to let me sleep in the front room," Sully said.

"Why?"

"'Cause how do I know that you're safe if I'm not right there with ya?"

"Oh, Sully, what could happen? Do you think a grizzly bear's going to come through the window while we're sleeping and take me off into the night?" She laughed.

"No but we don't know this man."

"Sure we do, his name is Warren Clark and he's offered us a place to stay. Besides, he's right."

"About what?"

"It isn't exactly proper for an unwed couple to share the same room."

"Oh, Michaela. How many times have we been out in the wilderness for days on end with just the two of us?"

"That was different."

"How?"

"We didn't have any other choice."

Sully smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Whatever you say."

"Goodnight, Sully."

"Goodnight, Michaela." He watched her walk into the room to the left, closing the door behind her.

Hours later, Sully heard the sound of footsteps walking towards him. He smiled, his back to the person, knowing that it was Michaela. He wondered if, like himself, she was having trouble sleeping. Sully listened to the rain that still was falling heavily, and he rolled over, expecting Michaela to be standing there in front of him. It wasn't Michaela, it was Warren.

"I'm sorry," Warren apologized, reaching for the coffee pot that was near Sully's head.

"That's alright," Sully replied, sitting up.

"'Fraid I couldn't sleep," Warren admitted. He brought the coffee pot to the table, his back turned towards Sully. Sully heard him pour out the coffee into a basin but then poor more water from a nearby bucket into the pot.

"Me neither."

"Rain's certainly comin' down hard."

"I thought it'd stopped by now."

"Sometimes the weather can play nasty tricks on ya." Finished with whatever he was making, Warren brought the pot back to where Sully lay on the floor, in front of the fire. Warren sat in the same rocking chair he had before, beside Sully's makeshift bed on the floor.

"Hope Dr. Mike's sleeping well," Warren said.

"Sure she is," Sully answered, wondering himself whether or not she was actually asleep.

"Seems like a wonderful lady."

"She is. But she's headstrong, that's for sure."

"Always liked headstrong women myself. I like a woman who can think for herself. Hardworking women."

Warren grabbed the warmed pot and poured two cups. He handed one to Sully.

"No thanks," Sully said. "Coffee'll keep my up all night."

"It ain't coffee," Warren explained to him. "Just some tea. I find that it helps me sleep."

Sully took the cup and sniffed it. It had no odor. He took a sip, hoping the tea would do just as Warren said – put him to sleep.

"So, you were born in Kansas City?"

"Yup. Only place I ever really called home."

"How long did ya live there?" Sully asked, sipping his tea. The tea warmed him and he began to feel tired just as Warren said he would.

"'Til I was eighteen and my ma passed away. Then I headed ta Wyoming ta try my hand as a cattleman and that's what I've been doin' since."

"Do ya ever miss it? Kansas City or Wyoming?"

"Don't miss Wyoming much. Sure, it was pretty but it was just a place to set up camp for a little bit. Never thought of it as much of a home. I had a pretty good home in Kansas City, though. Sometimes I find myself missin' it – wonderin' what happened to the folk there that I used to know. Used to live in the outskirts of town there. Didn't get to go inta town too often cause I was always busy helpin' my ma but the folk was nice and they helped us out when they could."

"You ever think that you'll go back there?" Sully questioned, drinking the last of his tea. His eyelids seemed to grow heavier with every breath. He could hear what Warren was saying but he was barely comprehending it.

"Maybe. Depends on my life here in Colorado. I go where the wind takes me, Mr. Sully. No tellin' where I'll be next. Suppose ya can't live that way once ya got a wife and three kids bogging ya down. But maybe I'd even settle down if I met a woman like Dr. Mike." Sully's eyes closed and he fell to the floor. "A strong woman who can help me and who does what I tell her without questionin'. Dr. Mike might not like to listen to what anyone says now but, let me tell you, Mr. Sully, she'll get used to it mighty quick 'cause she won't have no other choice. 'Sides, a man like you don't know how to keep a woman like her in control. Women shouldn't be allowed to do what they want. Ya need to be strict with women and let 'em know who's boss. Dr. Mike'll know who's boss, Mr. Sully, I'll promise ya that. Oh, and I don't like big posse's, Mr. Sully. Never much cared for 'em. They tend to make me do rash things like kill. Ya see, she isn't worth goin' to jail over so I wouldn't call the marshal, either. I suppose you'd rather have her alive than dead so I'd remember all that if I's was you. But, don't you worry, everythin's gonna be fine. Best thing for you ta do now is just forget 'bout what happened and forget 'bout Michaela. She'll be happier with me and my folk back home, anyway. You'll see." Warren patted Sully hard on the shoulder but Sully was no longer conscious. "I told ya that tea would make ya tired. Sleep well, my friend," Warren said, pouring the contents of his own mug back into the pot. He hadn't even taken a sip.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Dr. Mike! Sully!"

Sully heard the voices loud and clear but he wished that he didn't. His head was pounding. He brought his hand to massage his temples, hoping that he wasn't having migrums like he had before he and Michaela had become engaged. Sully opened his eyes, shielding them from the light that was streaming in the windows of the cabin. He looked around, trying to remember where he was. He finally remembered that he was lying on the floor of Warren's home. He must have slept through the night, even though he didn't quite remember falling asleep in the first place. He remembered talking with Warren after they all were supposed to have gone to bed but then everything just blacked out.

"Dr. Mike!" The voice sounded closer and Sully finally recognized it as Matthew's.

"Sully!" Another voice yelled. Sully was sure that it belonged to Robert E.

Sully stood on shaky legs, his head still pounding. He headed for the door and opened it. Matthew and Robert E were only a few yards away, sitting atop their horses.

"Sully!" Matthew shouted, dismounting and walking over to Sully. Robert E got off his horse, as well and tied them to a nearby tree. Sully saw Flash and his own horse tied to Robert E and Matthew's.

"What are y'all doin' out here?" Sully asked as the men walked to meet him at the door.

"We got worried," Matthew answered. We figured y'all found shelter during the storm but when ya didn't come back this morning, we decided to come out and find ya," Matthew answered.

"We found ya horses 'bout a mile from here," Robert E informed him.

"We had to leave 'em. The storm scared 'em too much. Ya said we didn't come back in the mornin'. What time is it?"

"I reckon it's near two in the afternoon. We left around noon," Matthew said.

"Two?" Sully questioned, wondering how he could have slept that late. He never slept that late. And why hadn't Michaela waken him?

"Where's Dr. Mike?" Matthew wondered.

Sully looked back into the cabin, panic striking him. He stormed into the room to the left, where Michaela had been sleeping. Matthew and Robert E followed him into the small room. When Sully did not see her, he ran into the room to the right where Warren was supposed to be staying. Warren wasn't there, either.

"Maybe she went out to find the horses," Robert E suggested.

"She wouldn't go without me," Sully replied, quietly. His head was hurting more than it had before and suddenly, his heart began to hurt, as well.

"What's goin' on, Sully?" Matthew asked.

Sully shook his head, knowing that he did not have an answer. He slumped into one of the rocking chairs that he had occupied only hours early.

"I'll go look around outside," Robert E announced as he made his way out of the homestead.

"Isn't this Widow Henry's place?" Matthew questioned, facing Sully.

"There was a man." Sully buried his head in his hands.

"What man?"

"Said his name was Warren Clark. He let us stay here durin' the storm because it was too dangerous to try and ride home. Said he just moved here from Nebraska…his cattle's outback."

"There ain't no cattle around here," Matthew informed him.

Sully was finally beginning to make sense of everything. He began to remember bits and pieces of the conversation that he had with Warren before he had fallen asleep.

"She'll be happier with me, anyway," Sully whispered.

"What?"

"That's what he said?"

"That's what who said? This guy, Clark? Sully, you're not makin' any sense. If there was this Clark guy, where is he now and where's the cattle he said he had and where's Dr. Mike?"

Sully opened his mouth to speak but was caught off when he heard Robert E yelling both of their names. They both bolted towards the door and found Robert E standing behind the homestead next to a small shack. Sully peered inside of the shack.

"That's widow Henry," Matthew announced.

"She's dead," Robert E replied. "Probably just died of old age, poor lady."

"She didn't die of old age," Sully realized. "She was murdered."

"How do ya know?" Matthew asked.

Sully reached inside the small shack and slowly turned the body of the old woman. The hay below her was soaked with blood.

"Looks like she was shot," Sully responded.

"If she'd been shot there'd be more blood," Matthew said.

"Then she wasn't shot here but her body was moved here," Sully explained.

"Who shot her?" Robert E questioned.

"Warren Clark," Sully answered. Robert E did not recognize the name but he did not probe for answers. Sully stormed off back to the house.

"What're you doin', Sully?" Matthew asked, trying to keep up with him.

Sully went to where his and Michaela's clothes had been hung to dry but they were no longer there. There was just a puddle on the floor below them where the water had collected as they dripped.

"He took her!" Sully shouted.

"Dr. Mike? This Clark guy took Dr. Mike?" Matthew asked, unsure of what to make of the whole predicament. Sully wasn't exactly acting like himself and Matthew had to wonder if there really was a guy named Warren Clark. Regardless of whether or not there was, it still did not explain where Dr. Mike was. Sully noticed the pot of tea beside the fire. He walked over to it and lifted the lid.

"What's that?" Matthew asked as Robert E appeared in the doorway, even more confused than Matthew. Sully picked the pot up and held it to Matthew's nose.

"What does it smell like?"

"Don't smell like anything," Matthew replied, wondering if Sully had seriously gone crazy.

"Exactly."

"Sully…"

"What kind 'a tea do you know that don't smell like nothing?"

Matthew had to think about it. Most teas did have some kind of odor. "I don't know, Sully, but I don't know much about teas."

"It's poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Robert E said, finding Sully's story as difficult to believe as Matthew was finding it.

"What makes ya think it was poisoned?"

"Warren made me drink some last night 'fore I went to sleep. He said that it helped make ya tired so that ya could sleep better. When I drank it, things started gettin'…strange."

"Strange? Strange how?" Matthew inquired.

"I got real tired real fast and I couldn't keep my eyes open and, after a while, I couldn't hear what he was sayin' anymore even though I knew he's was talkin'. I can't explain it, Matthew but somethin' was in that tea."

"Doesn't poison usually kill ya?" Robert E questioned.

"Dr. Mike told Colleen and me about some kinds of poison that can just…knock ya out for a while. She said if ya give too much, it can kill ya but, if ya only take a while, it can just make ya tired," Matthew explained.

"Like the chloroform Dr. Mike uses when she's doin' procedures," Sully said.

"Somethin' like that," Matthew replied. "But couldn't Dr. Mike just be out lookin' for the horses like Robert E said or bathin' in some stream somewhere?"

"She wouldn't have just left without tellin' me, Matthew. Besides, it don't explain where Warren is or why Widow Henry's lying dead in the shack outside."

Sully walked back into the room where Michaela had supposedly been sleeping. He stood in the doorway and looked around the room more carefully. The room had a small bed in one corner and a set of drawers in another. The bed was unmade, the blankets strewn about. One of them had landed on the floor. Sully noticed a stream of light coming from a corner of the room. He walked to it and pushed on the wall. A small door, one that only came to Sully's shoulders, swung open. He stepped out of the door, ducking to clear his head. As he stepped onto the still damp ground below, he saw strands of long, brown hair stuck to a branch that stuck out, blocking the door. He knew that they belonged to Michaela. He looked at the frame of the door and saw claw marks that Michaela must have left. As he looked at where he stood, he saw the small drops of blood that were soaking the green grass. Sully fell to his knees. Immediately Robert E and Matthew were at his side. They both saw the same signs that he did and they knew that everything Sully had said was the truth.

"Why would he take her?" Matthew asked, trying to figure out what they had seen and what Sully had told him. They had moved back into the front room, standing in front of the fireplace.

"He wants her to work for him," Sully answered.

"Work for him?" Matthew gasped, fearing the worse. He couldn't imagine Dr. Mike working for a man like Hank's girls did for him.

"Workin' for him in the fields and as his wife," Sully continued, knowing what Matthew was thinking.

"Where would he take her?" Robert E inquired. Sully shook his head. He didn't know. What was worse is that he could imagine Warren carrying her off. Had she screamed for Sully to rescue her while he slept by the fire? Had she called out his name? Had she hated him when he did not come to her rescue? Was she disappointed in him? Would she ever be able to forgive him? Would he ever be able to forgive himself?

"Did he say anythin', Sully as to where he would take her?" Matthew pushed. Sully didn't respond. "Where was he from?"

"All over," Sully answered.

"Did he mention anywhere in particular?" Robert E questioned.

"Just said he came from Nebraska and Wyomin' 'fore that and…"

"And what?" Matthew said.

"Kansas City. He took her ta Kansas City."

"Ya sure?" Matthew asked.

"It was the one place he said was home. He was born there, lived there 'til he was twelve. Said he wanted to go back there and see how the folk were doin'."

"That's over a day's ride from here," Robert E announced.

"Why don't we track 'em?" Matthew suggested.

"Rain woulda washed everythin' away," Sully responded. "Won't be nothin' left to track. We just gotta hope that he decided to go back ta Kansas City."

"And if he didn't?" Matthew wondered, fearing the answer.

"Maybe somebody there will know where else he's gone."

"We gotta get back inta town and get a posse goin'," Matthew instructed, heading for the door.

"We can't get a posse together!" Sully shouted, blocking Matthew from exiting the room.

"We have to, Sully. We have to wire the marshal in Kansas City and get some boys to ride out there with us to find Dr. Mike."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

Sully tried to come up with a reason. Warren had said something about posse's hadn't he? He'd said that he didn't like them. Sully was torn. He knew that a posse was probably the best thing. The more men the better but, if what Sully thought Warren said was true, Warren didn't care much for posse's or for the marshal. Hadn't he threatened to kill Michaela if he caught wind that either one was on his tail?

"Because we just can't," Sully sighed.

"I think that poison messed with your brain a little, Sully. This ain't about you lookin' like a hero, savin' her life. This is about findin' Dr. Mike and bringin' her home 'fore somethin' happens to her."

"I'm not tryin' to be a hero, Matthew! I want Dr. Mike home more than anythin' but you gotta listen to me. A posse'll just scare him off and he's not afraid of killin' her."

"How do you know he hasn't already killed her? If he killed Widow Henry, what makes you think he wouldn't kill Dr. Mike?"

And that was the one thing that Sully did not want to admit. Matthew was right, Warren could have killed Michaela already and none of them would know it.

"Because I know that he wants her as his wife," Sully finally answered, not sure if he really believed it himself. Even if it was true, what was stopping him from killing her?

Matthew sighed. "Alright, if we don't wire the marshal and we don't get a posse, what do you suggest?"

"I ride out to Kansas City and see if I can find 'em."

"And what do you plan on doin' when you get there? Just takin' her back?"

"I haven't thought much about it, Matthew, but I'll figure it out."

"We'll go with ya, Sully," Robert E insisted.

"No thanks, Robert E. If he finds out…"

"Three men ain't a posse," Matthew retorted. "Ya can't go out there by yourself, Sully. Ya don't know what kind of man he is or what he's capable of."

"Someone's gotta look after the children," Sully reminded them both.

"They can stay in town at the clinic with Dorothy lookin' after 'em or…" Matthew suggested.

"We can't tell no one in town what's going on," Sully instructed.

"Why not?" Matthew asked.

"'Cause they'll just get a posse together and ride off after her. Don't need folks in an uproar. We gotta keep this as quiet as possible."

"Grace and I'll watch 'em, Sully," Robert E offered. We'll have 'em stay in the clinic and we'll watch 'em. They can even come stay with us in the homestead if they hafta. We can make room."

"Thank you, Robert E but Matthew's gonna be goin' back and stayin' with 'em."

"I'm goin' with you," Matthew insisted. He knew that Sully thought that he was doing what was best for Dr. Mike but he could not let him go off alone this time. This wasn't like when Dr. Mike had been abducted by the dog soldiers and Sully knew about Indian territory. This was different and Matthew was determined to help.

"Matthew…"

"If this man claims that he's a rancher, maybe he does have some cattle back in Kansas City. I know you think you know somethin' about cattle since you helped me with the cattle drive but the truth is, you know the land and I know cattle. 'Sides, this man doesn't know me. Maybe I can talk to him about cattle, get information. Or, if not him, other people who might know him. They might feel more comfortable talkin' to me than they would with you."

Sully sighed. Matthew was making sense even though Sully knew that there was another reason why Matthew was volunteering to help and it wasn't just because he would do anything to save Michaela. Whatever Matthew's reasoning was, Sully couldn't put his finger on it.

"Fine, you can come but, if at any point, I ask you to leave, you hafta leave, Matthew."

Matthew didn't quite like the conditions but he knew that they would be negotiable if the time ever arose. He and Sully shook hands.

"Deal," Matthew agreed. "Are you gonna tell Brian and Colleen what happened?"

"Don't think that's such a good idea. They'll just be worried and go off tellin' folks. Ya know that Brian can't go a day without tellin' Mr. Bray somethin'."

"What are we gonna tell 'em then?" Matthew asked.

The men were silent for a moment. They didn't want to lie to the children but they did want to protect them, and Dr. Mike.

"I'll tell 'em that Dr. Mike found some sick folk while y'all were out on your picnic and that y'all are stayin' with 'em until they're better and I'll tell 'em that Matthew had to tend to some of their cattle while they were all sick," Robert E said.

"Thank you, Robert E," Sully replied.

"We'll need some supplies," Matthew reminded him. "We're gonna hafta go back to the homestead 'fore we head out."

"We'll have to make sure the children aren't there," Sully replied.

"They'll be at school 'til three," Matthew explained.

"That doesn't give us much time. It's almost three now."

"I'll ride back into town and head 'em off. Keep 'em at Grace's," Robert E suggested.

"Alright, that settles it. Let's go," Matthew announced. Matthew and Robert E walked out of the room and headed towards their horses. Sully couldn't help but look around once more, hoping that he was wrong. Maybe Michaela was out bathing in a stream somewhere. Inside his heart, though, he knew that it was not as simple as that. Something was wrong with her and he had let her down. He couldn't get that thought out of his head.

Although he did not know if he believed in God, he put his hands together and he begged God to keep her safe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Grace weaved her way through the tables of her café. The café was slow, the lunch rush having just left. Although Grace loved serving her customers, she also loved the quiet times in between where she could just concentrate on cooking and not have to concentrate so much on serving.

She poured one of her remaining customers another cup of coffee. He was a man she had seen from time to time around town but had never spoken to. Grace swore that every time she turned around, there was another family or young man moving into town, trying to start a new life. She figured that with the railroad's arrival, the amount of people who visited and decided to live in their town would only increase. As she started thinking about maybe Robert E building her a few more tables to accommodate the increase in customers, she saw him walking swiftly towards her out of the corner of her eye.

"You just get back, Robert E?" Grace asked.

Robert E approached his wife and gave her a peck on the cheek. "We gotta talk, Grace."

They walked together over to her stove, away from her customer's listening ears.

"What's goin' on? Did you find Dr. Mike and Sully?"

"We found Sully," he said quietly.

"Well, where's Dr. Mike?"

"She was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Grace exclaimed. Robert E shushed her, causing some heads to turn. He doubted that anyone actually heard her but he wanted to keep the information as quiet as possible, especially after what Sully had said.

"Sully and Dr. Mike sought shelter just like we thought but when we found 'em, Sully had been given some kind of poison and…"

"Poison?" She cried, more quietly.

"It didn't hurt him none but it made him real tired," Robert E explained, realizing how crazy it all sounded. "Dr. Mike was kidnapped in the middle of the night. Least, that's what we can figure. We're not exactly sure what happened but Sully thinks that the man's takin' her to Kansas City."

"Have ya told Jake or Loren or anybody?"

"No. And we ain't tellin' no one."

"But if Dr. Mike's missin' we…"

"We ain't gonna do nothin'. Matthew and Sully are goin' after her and they don't want no one to know. But they need our help."

"What kind of help?"

"We gotta watch over Colleen and Brian but we can't let 'em know what happened to Dr. Mike."

"What are we gonna tell 'em?"

"You leave that to me. We got it all worked out. But we can't let 'em go back to the homestead for a while, either."

"Why not?"

"'Cause Matthew and Sully are getting' supplies for their journey and we don't want Brian or Colleen seein' 'em. They're gonna stay in the clinic in town for a while so we can keep an eye on 'em."

"They'll be getting' outta school any moment now. I 'spect they're gonna wanna know what happened to their ma."

"You just keep 'em in the café for a while. I gotta get some things from the store and meet up with Sully and Matthew at the homestead. I'll be back soon, though. Just keep 'em here for the next hour."

Robert E began to walk away, heading towards Loren's store.

"Robert E…" He turned back towards Grace. "Is Dr. Mike gonna be alright?"

"I hope so, Grace. Lord, I hope so."

He turned once more and Grace watched him until he disappeared into Loren's store. Grace couldn't help but think that they were making a big mistake not telling anyone in town but she knew that Sully would never do anything to put Michaela in danger so he must be doing the right thing. She clasped her hands together and said a silent prayer, praying for Dr. Mike's safe return.

"Hey Grace!"

Grace jumped slightly and saw Brian standing behind her. She immediately brought her hand to the cross around her neck, a nervous habit that she had always had.

"Hello Brian. How was school?"

"Fine. Robert E been back yet?"

"No, not yet," Grace lied. She hated lying to the small boy, especially seeing how his young face fell when she told him the news. She only hoped that he wouldn't spot Robert E coming out of Loren's store.

"I hoped they'd found ma and Sully by now."

"I'm sure that Matthew and Robert E found 'em and they're on their way back right now."

"I hope so."

"Where's your sister?"

"She's still at the school helpin' someone with some homework. Now that Rose ain't here, some of the kids need some extra help."

"Well, that's nice of her." Grace began wringing her hands.

"Ya all right, Grace?"

She nodded and forced him a smile. "How 'bout you help me make a pie, Brian?"

"A pie?"

"Sure. I know how much you liked makin' the one for the day of the race. I figure it's 'bout time you try your hand at makin' another one. 'Sides, it'll help the time pass 'fore your ma gets back," Grace said.

Brian smiled, thinking that by the time the pie was finished, his ma would probably be walking into town, telling them that she and Sully just had lost the horses after hiding from the storm and had to go find them and that's why they were late. As he and Grace started getting the right ingredients to make their pie, Brian couldn't help but smile, knowing that everything was going to be alright.

Sully rolled over for what seemed like the millionth time. Although he was used to sleeping on the ground, he could not fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Michaela and he missed her.

He opened his eyes, expecting to see Matthew sleeping on his bed roll just a few feet away but he was not lying there. Sully sat up, adjusting his eyes to the small amount of moonlight that aided his vision. Wolf, who was lying beside him, lifted his head as Sully sat up. Sully scanned the surrounding area and finally saw Matthew sitting on a rock only a few yards away. Sully got up, motioning to Wolf to stay put, and walked over to Matthew.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sully asked as he approached Matthew. Matthew did not turn to look at him but he just kept staring straight ahead, as if there were something keeping his interest, although there was nothing in front of him. Matthew quickly ran the back of his hand across his eyes and Sully knew that it was to wipe away his tears.

"Not tired," Matthew answered.

"I feel the same way," Sully replied.

Sully knew that it would be morning in a few hours and, more than anything, he wanted to push on to get to Kansas City as soon as possible, but he also knew that it was important to rest and to not push the horses. He and Matthew had been traveling until near midnight when he made them stop, set up camp, and rest. They had been traveling since they left the homestead at 4 in the afternoon. Sully knew that common sense would have told them to spend the night at the homestead and then go out first thing in the morning but Sully could not waste the few precious hours that they had left in the day. As he looked up at the moon, he figured it was probably around two in the morning.

"I lied to ya, Sully," Matthew admitted.

"What'd ya lie about?"

"When I told ya that I wanted to come with ya to help find Dr. Mike. I didn't come with ya 'cause I thought that I would be good at talkin' to Warren or findin' out information 'bout him."

"I know."

"You know?"

"I knew there was somethin' else. Just couldn't figure out what it was."

"Ya know that I would do anythin' to help Dr. Mike."

"I know that."

"But it ain't just that." Matthew paused, wondering if he would be able to form what he was thinking into words. "When Dr. Mike took Colleen, me, and Brian in, she didn't have to. Even though she promised my real ma that she would, she still didn't have to. She coulda left us with some other folk or she coulda sent us to an orphanage or she coulda split us up but she didn't. And…and I was so mean to her, Sully."

Matthew wiped his tears once again from his eyes.

"When my real ma died, I didn't want another ma. I didn't want Brian and Colleen to have another ma, neither. And I certainly didn't want to live up at the homestead with her. I wanted ta stay in the boardin' house even if the bank was takin' it away. I would have run away if not for Colleen and Brian. I couldn't have left them there all alone. But Dr. Mike she…she did everything she could to be the best ma she could. At first I was angry that Brian and Colleen was gettin' so attached to her. I thought they were betrayin' our real ma in some way but I know now that they weren't. Our real ma woulda wanted it that way. But, even now…even after all that's happened. Even though I consider Dr. Mike to be as much a ma as my real ma… I never told her."

"Told her what?"

This time Matthew faced Sully with the tears glistening on his cheeks. He knew that, as a man, he shouldn't cry but he also knew that, of anyone in the world, Sully understood him. Sully had become the father that Matthew never had even though he had barely begun to recognize him as such.

"I ain't never apologized for treatin' her the way I did when she took us in. I ain't never thanked her for what she did for us." He paused. "I ain't never told her that I loved her."

"Dr. Mike knows that ya love her, Matthew," Sully told him.

"How, Sully? How does she know?"

"She knows through your actions. Your always helpin' her 'round the house and the clinic. Ya help out with Brian and Colleen. And most of all, you're always there for her when she needs ya. "

"Still ain't the same."

"Matthew, we never tell the people that we love that we love 'em enough. We could tell 'em every minute of every day but it still ain't enough. But we just gotta know that they love us and that they know that we love them."

"Think she knows how much I appreciate her for everything she's done for Colleen and Brian…and me?"

"I think she knows," Sully agreed. "Ya gotta remember that Dr. Mike's a smart lady."

"Dr. Mike's the best ma that we all could have gotten." Matthew sighed. "Sometimes I wonder…well…what if Dr. Mike wasn't our ma."

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean, if, when my real ma died, she had left us to someone else…even Miss Olive…what woulda happened to us all? I mean, I loved Miss Olive and all but, if we went to live with her, we wouldn't be friends with the Cheyenne and maybe I wouldn't be engaged to Ingrid and maybe we'd never have gotten a school built if Brian hadn't fallen outta that tree. We might not even still be livin' in Colorado Springs since Miss Olive was always goin' on those cattle drives. And Dr. Mike'd be up in the homestead all alone, tryin' to figure out how ta cook her own dinner."

Sully smiled. "Dr. Mike sure can do a lot of things but cookin' ain't one of 'em." This time it was Matthew who smiled, remembering so many meals that Dr. Mike had tried to make but that Colleen had to somehow fix later.

"I think your real ma thought hard about who to leave y'all to, Matthew," Sully continued. "She didn't just say Dr. Mike's name 'cause she was standin' there with her when she died. Your real ma didn't know Dr. Mike as long as she new Miss Olive when she left y'all to her but she saw somethin' special in Dr. Mike. She knew that y'all would have the best life with her that you could possibly have."

"Don't think even ma coulda seen that you and Dr. Mike'd adopt Colleen and Brian."

"Maybe she did. Maybe she saw somethin' between Dr. Mike and I that we hadn't seen yet. Matthew, I think your real ma's lookin' down at us right now and I don't think she could have been happier."

Matthew didn't say anything in response.

"Somethin' wrong?" Sully questioned.

"When you and Dr. Mike talked about adoptin' Brian and Colleen, I almost wished…I wished I was young enough to be adopted with 'em so that I could really be Dr. Mike's son."

Sully placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Don't need no legal papers to say that you're Dr. Mike's son…our son."

Matthew smiled. "Ya think Dr. Mike's really alright, Sully?"

"I think your ma's the strongest person I know."

A comfortable silence befell them. "I guess we should get some sleep, then, 'fore the sun comes up."

"Guess so," Sully replied. Matthew stood and began walking towards his bed roll. "And Matthew…" Matthew turned to face him. "Don't forget to tell Dr. Mike how much you love and appreciate her when we find her. Remember, you can never say it too many times."

Matthew smiled. "I won't, Sully, I promise."

"Goodnight, Matthew."

"'Night, Sully."

As Sully watched Matthew walk away, he couldn't help but think about when the last time was that he told Michaela that he loved her. It had been that day, hadn't it? They had been having such a good time on their romantic picnic, he almost wondered if he could have forgotten to tell her something as important as that. He knew that she knew that he loved her but he also knew that she had her doubts about their relationship from time to time. He wasn't sure if he would ever get it into her head that he loved her more than life itself and that he would be with her until the day they were parted by death. As Sully thought about it, he shook the thought from his mind, praying once more than he would find Michaela alive and that their love would not be parted anytime in the near future.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Michaela sat on the floor, huddled in the corner. Her stomach grumbled loudly, the feeling of hunger gnawed at her. The last time she had eaten had been at the picnic, over thirty hours before. It felt as if she had been gone for months even though she knew that it had just been the night before that she spent in Warren's homestead. Michaela's stomach moaned and she knew that it must be nearing dinnertime. Although there was no clock, she figured it had to be near 6:30, when her family would normally sit down and eat together. She wondered what Colleen had made for dinner or if they had gone to Grace's. She wondered if Brian had been sneaking candy all afternoon, even though she constantly told him that it would spoil his dinner. She wondered if they were all sitting around the table, enjoying their time together. As she thought of her family, she could not help but cry.

Michaela didn't know how she had gotten to the room that she was sitting in or where she was. The room had only one door and, although she pulled and kicked at it, it would not open. It didn't even look like a door and it was only by accident that she had found it. There was no doorknob but there was a key hole that Michaela had found because it was the only space that let in light. The rest of the room appeared to be sealed.

The room had no windows and little hope for escape. Michaela tried to remember anything she could about how she got there but all she could remember was falling asleep the night before in Warren's homestead and then waking up in the room. She wasn't sure if she had traveled or if she was perhaps still in the same house as she had fallen asleep in. Most of her fingernails were broken, making her believe that she had perhaps put up some kind of fight but she could not remember it, nor could she remember who she would have been fighting. The back of her head was bleeding slightly, and, although it left her with somewhat of a headache, she knew that it was nothing too serious.

When she first woke, she had spent near an hour just shouting and yelling. She called out Sully's name so many times that she had lost count. When he didn't answer, the fear crept over her that he had been hurt or killed. She could only pray that he was alive and well.

The door creaked open and Michaela jumped to her feet.

"Glad to see you're awake," Warren commented as he slipped inside the door. He closed it behind him. The first thing Michaela noticed was the large rifle in his hands.

"Please, what's going on?" She begged.

"Don't remember nothin'?"

Michaela shook her head. "Where am I? Where's Sully?"

"Ya won't need to worry 'bout your precious fiancé anymore."

Suddenly her knees became weak and panic filtered through her body. "Please…" she whispered.

"I didn't kill 'em, if that's what you're thinkin'." Michaela breathed a sigh of relief. "But I wouldn't 'xpect him to be comin' any time soon."

"Coming? Coming where? Where are we?"

"You really don't remember nothin'? Don't usually happen like that."

Michaela knew that she should be afraid of the man but she had to know what was happening to her and where she was. She had to find out what he meant when he said that she didn't have to worry about Sully.

"What doesn't usually happen like that?"

"I took ya home to Kansas City where ya belong," Warren explained. Michaela couldn't help but gasp.

"Belong? I don't belong here!"

"Ya do now." He paused. "Now that we're married."

"Married? We're not married!"

"Most women at least remember their weddin'. Musta given ya too much or maybe ya too frail. No matter, you'll toughen up real fast."

"Please…please, Warren, tell me what's going on," Michaela cried. Her mind was racing. She couldn't comprehend what was going on.

"It's Samuel, Michaela," she hated the sound of her name coming from his lips. "Samuel Warren. And you're my wife now. Got married by the mayor an' everythin'. Now ya can help me with the cattle and the farm and learnin' some manners like ya don't speak until spoken to and ya do what I tell ya."

"But I didn't marry you!"

He slapped her across the face. "That'll teach ya to speak back ta me!" He yelled. Michaela held her stinging cheek but did not back down from him. "Don't matter if ya agreed to marry me or not, we're married and that's all that matters. So you can forget about your fiancé and your children. Ya got a new life now. Ya got me to love."

"I could never love you!"

He raised his hand to hit her once more but he didn't.

"You better start learnin' fast or you're gonna be real sorry."

He stormed out of the room, locking the door behind him.

"Please!" She cried, pounding her fists against the hard wood. "Sully! Where's Sully? Please!"

She pounded until her hands were raw and blistering and then she collapsed.

"Colleen," Brian whispered, opening the door to his sister's room very slowly. He walked slowly into the room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He had a small candle in his hand that he was using to light his way.

Colleen rolled over on the bed, putting her back towards him, thinking that if she ignored him, he might go away.

"Colleen…" he whispered again.

"I'm sleepin', Brian," she mumbled.

Brian closed the door but kept walking towards the bed. "But I can't sleep. I'm worried."

Colleen sighed and rolled back over to face him. She sat up.

"What're ya worried about?"

"'Bout ma and Matthew and Sully."

"Brian, there ain't nothin' to worry about. Ma's just helpin' some folk."

"But why did Matthew an' Sully hafta stay?"

"Ya heard what Robert E said. Sully's helpin' ma and Matthew's helpin' with their cattle."

"But what if they got somethin' like the influenza an' ma and Sully an' Matthew catch it but no one knows what they got 'cause no one's out there helpin' 'em?"

"If it were the influenza, Dr. Mike would send from some medicine," Colleen assured him. He didn't look satisfied. "Everythin's gonna be fine, Brian. Ya know that Dr. Mike likes to help folk whenever she can. I'm sure they'll be back 'fore ya know it."

"Why do we hafta stay in the clinic?"

"'Cause ya know that Dr. Mike don't like us stayin' in the homestead alone. Besides, here in town, there's people lookin' out for us. Now go back to bed."

"I ain't gonna be able to sleep."

"You can at least try."

"I'd probably be able to sleep if I could stay in here with you." Somehow Colleen knew that, by the end of the night, she would be sharing her bed with her brother. She moved over and Brian climbed onto the bed and under the covers with her. "Thanks."

"Now will you sleep?"

"I'll try."

Colleen laid back down, placing her arm protectively over her brother. She knew that he tried to act grown up sometimes but that he was still a child and needed someone to assure him that everything was going to be alright. Colleen wished that someone was doing that for her at that moment. She was as worried about Dr. Mike, Sully, and Matthew as Brian was. She had spent the afternoon milling around the telegram office, hoping that Dr. Mike would at least send them a telegram to let them know what was going on. When nothing came, Colleen had started making sure that all of the medicines that Dr. Mike could possibly need were ready to go in case she needed them.

"Colleen…" Brian whispered.

"Yes Brian?"

"I can't wait for ma and Sully ta get married."

"Me either, Brian."

"Think we'll have a little brother or sister?"

"Maybe," Colleen answered. She had thought about the possibility so many times since Sully and Dr. Mike had announced their engagement. She couldn't help but wonder if she would finally have another sister to care for or maybe another little brother to put her arm around when he felt scared.

"Colleen…"

"Yes Brian?"

"What if Sully's first wife Abigail was still alive?"

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean, Sully'd still be married to her, right?"

"Sure, I guess so."

"And they'd have their own family with their baby Hannah and maybe some other babies. And Mr. Bray would probably like Sully a whole lot more. Dr. Mike and Sully probably wouldn't even know each other too well cause Sully'd be livin' in the homestead with Abigail and ma wouldn't have nowhere to live."

"I'm sure she could have found somewhere else to live, Brian."

"But ma probably wouldn't be able to help the Cheyenne 'cause Sully wouldn't be 'round to help her. He wasn't friendly with the Cheyenne 'til after Abigail died. And, without Sully's help maybe ma woulda been run outta town and…"

"Brian!" Colleen yelled, knowing that if she didn't stop him, he could have gone on forever. "Ya can never know how thing would be different if things hadn't happened that did happen."

"Ya think Sully loves ma more than Abigail?"

Colleen sighed, unsure of how to answer her brother. "I think Sully loved Abigail and that he loves Dr. Mike but he loved 'em in…in different ways. If Abigail were still alive, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to love Dr. Mike but that don't mean that he wished Abigail died."

"I don't get it."

"Think about it, Brian. If our real ma hadn't died, we wouldn't be livin' with Dr. Mike. Dr. Mike wouldn't even have this clinic. I loved our real ma but I also love Dr. Mike but it don't mean that I wished our real ma had died."

Brian thought about what his sister had told him. "I don't wish our real ma had died, neither," Brian finally said, "but I do love livin' with Dr. Mike."

"Ya see, ya can't live in the past. Ya just gotta live with what's right in front of ya or else you'll run yourself in circles tryin' to figure out which life you'd like more. You understand?"

"I think so."

"Good. Now go to sleep!" She leaned over and began tickling Brian, knowing that it was going to be a long, sleepless night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Matthew and Sully rode through the main street of the town, trying to ignore the staring faces of the people surrounding them. Wolf trotted beside them, never venturing far from Sully. Matthew couldn't believe how much the small town they were riding through resembled Colorado Springs. Sure, there were different people and some different stores, but many of the attributes were the same.

"What do ya wanna do?" Matthew asked Sully quietly so as not to have everyone overhear.

"Let's stop at the saloon. Always people gossipin' in there. Maybe they've seen Michaela. Don't wanna be too conspicuous, though. Can't let 'em know that we're lookin' for her."

Matthew nodded. They neared the saloon and dismounted their horses. Sully instructed wolf to say. They walked to the entrance and pushed the doors open.

The saloon was relatively empty but all of the faces immediately turned to Matthew and Sully. The bartender, whom Sully thought was probably the owner, whispered to one of the saloon girls beside him and she walked over to them.

"You boys new in town?" She asked them.

"Just passin' through," Sully answered.

"Looks like y'all could use a drink," she placed her arm on Sully's shoulder, "or a good time."

"No thank you, ma'am. Just lookin' for a place to sit down for a while."

The woman moved over to Matthew. "How 'bout you, fella?"

Matthew shook his head and shrugged the woman off. They both made their way made their way to an empty table and sat. The bartender immediately sat beside them.

"Where ya from?"

"California," Sully answered.

"California? Where ya headed?"

"Out East," Sully replied.

The bartender pointed to Matthew. "He talk?"

"Only if there's somethin' worth talkin' about," Matthew responded.

The bartender smiled. "Always respected a man who's careful with his words," he commented. "What are y'all gonna do in the East?"

"Got family there. Gonna surprise 'em," Sully lied.

"Y'all brothers?"

"Cousins," Sully answered, hastily, realizing that he and Matthew looked nothing like each other to pass as brothers and that Matthew was too old for people to believe that he was Sully's son.

"What do y'all do?" The bartender probed.

"I'm a cattle rancher," Matthew answered.

Sully suddenly came up with an idea, realizing that Matthew's background in cattle ranching might come in more handy than he had realized.

"Ya know of any cattle ranchers 'round here who are lookin' for a hand?" Sully asked.

"Y'all lookin' for a job?"

"Might be," Sully answered. "Depends on who's offerin' it an how much they're payin'."

"Thought ya'll were just passin' through."

"Pretty tough to make it all the way to the East without no money, ain't it?" Sully retorted.

"I know someone who's got a ranch lookin' for some help," a man from across the saloon said. Both Matthew and Sully looked to the man. He wore his hat low, covering his eyes. Sully noticed that the man didn't have a drink in front of him.

"Would ya take us to him?" Sully questioned.

"Let's go," the man said.

Sully stood and began following the man. Matthew followed them reluctantly, wondering what Sully was doing. He knew that they really weren't looking for a job and that they might be able to find out more information if they stayed at the saloon. The man hopped onto his horse and silence. Matthew and Sully did the same. They followed him, without quite knowing where they were going. As soon as they had made it out of town, the man stopped in the middle of the trail.

"You ain't here to take a job ranchin' cattle," the man said.

"We ain't lookin' for no trouble, mister," Sully warned the man, hoping that he was not wrong about his instincts.

"No, but you are here lookin' for somethin' else. A woman perhaps? With long, brown hair?"

"Michaela," Sully whispered.

"You seen her?" Matthew asked.

"I seen her," the man replied.

"Where is she?" Sully questioned, nearly yelling. "Was she hurt? Is she with that man, Warren Clark? Did you…"

"Woah…slow down," the man said. "Don't know no man by the name of Warren Clark. I think ya must be talkin' about Samuel Warren."

"He told me his name was Warren Clark," Sully responded.

"What do ya know about him?" Matthew inquired.

"Know he takes women ta be his wives and ta work on his farm."

"His wife?" Matthew asked.

"How do ya know this?" Sully wondered.

"Happened to my sister," the man answered. "After Warren's ma died, he went crazy. Didn't have no one to help him on the farm and he almost lost everythin'. Couldn't afford to hire no one so he figured the best thing to do would be ta get married and have his wife help 'em. Problem is, the wife he chose was a real sick lady…Rebecca was her name. Didn't last too long, the poor thing. He got real mad after that and married some other poor lady who came ta town. Within weeks, she was dead, too. Everyone thought it was just 'cause she got some disease or somethin'. No one much cared for the lady…she just happened to be passin' through so no one asked any questions. Then, Warren met my sister and, even though I forbid her to marry him, she did. She died just last week. He done buried her out there on his property 'fore anyone knew."

"How'd she die?" Matthew asked.

The man shook his head. "Don't' know. Never even visited her grave. Man won't let no one on his property. He'll shoot ya if ya take one step on his land. That man's crazy, 'cept when it comes to cattle. But I know my sister. She didn't have a weak heart like his first wife. He done killed her."

"You think he murdered her?" Matthew questioned.

"He didn't shoot her or nothing like that but he beat her and he starved her. I saw the markin's on her body once when I paid 'em a visit. I only saw her from a distance and she was so thin and frail but he ran me off with that rifle of his."

"Why don't the town do somethin' about him?" Matthew inquired.

"Town figures that once a man gets married to a woman, it's up to him to take care of her. Town won't interfere with no one who's married. I've done begged 'em and begged 'em but they won't do nothin'."

"He took Michaela?" Sully questioned, his mind and his heart churning. He couldn't imagine Michaela with that man, especially married to him. She wondered if she had eaten anything since their picnic or if he had beat her. Just thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.

"Suppose when he ran outta women in this town to marry, he went off lookin' for others. Never figured he'd go this crazy. Your woman…was she wearin' a blue dress?" Sully nodded. "That was her, then. She your wife?"

"My fiancé," Sully answered. Sully could feel his heart breaking. "Where's his property?" Anger began to build inside of him.

"I told ya, ya can't just go onto that man's property."

"I don't care. I gotta find her," Sully remarked, desperately. "If ya say she's helpin' him in the fields then she's gotta be outside and I'll just go find her and bring her back."

"He'll keep her close to the house, under his eye. Ya can't underestimate this man. He may be crazy but he's smart."

"Where does he live?" Sully demanded.

"It ain't that easy…"

"Where does he live?" Sully asked again, raising his voice.

"Wait a minute, Sully," Matthew interjected. "This Warren guy is awfully smart. He gave you that poison or…or whatever it was. He ain't playin' around, Sully. And we gotta think about Brian and Colleen at home. If somethin' happens to us…"

Sully knew that Matthew was right but he couldn't help feeling that, if Michaela were so close, he had to find her.

"What are we gonna do, then?" Sully asked.

"We gotta spy on 'em. Figure out the best time to go in an' get her. If we just waltz in there, he'll kill us on the spot for sure. We gotta hide the horses and go in on foot or he'll catch us. We'll take 'em to my place. Don't look like you fellas got guns, neither. Gotta get us some of those."

"I don't carry a gun," Sully told him.

"Then maybe it's time you started." The man kicked his heels and headed down the trail once more.

"Wait!" Sully yelled. The man stopped. "We don't even know your name."

"Robert," the man answered. "And you?"

"Sully," Sully replied.

"Matthew," Matthew said.

"Well, Sully, Matthew, hope this won't be the last time we get to share each other's company," Robert said before kicking off and racing down the road.

Michaela stood up, massaging her lower back. She never knew that working in the fields could be so tiring or painful. She wiped the sweat from her brow, surprised that she was sweating at all since the warm streak had turned into typical February weather. The back of her hand smeared dirt across her forehead. She hadn't bathed or had the chance to even wash her hands since she arrived. Warren had entered her room before the sun had come up and yanked her to her feet by her hair. He gave her a cup of water and a piece of bread, which did almost nothing to quiet her hungry stomach, and then threw her outside. He had chained her right leg to a chain that ran for nearly twenty yards. It was long enough for her to do work but nowhere near long enough for her to get some kind of help.

"Ain't no stoppin'! Warren yelled as he saw Michaela standing among the tall grass. She immediately bent over before he had the chance to strike her and began weeding the area as she had been instructed. Warren had told her that eventually she would be helping him with the cattle but before he could trust her with that, she had to start weeding the grass near the house so that he could start the farming that had been neglected since his mother had passed.

Warren walked away, leaving her once again, alone. She wondered if there were people out there looking for her, if Sully was out there looking for her. She couldn't help but wonder if her children were scared or if they even know that she had disappeared at all. Michaela wasn't sure how long she would be able to last in such a place without adequate food. Even in just a day, she could feel the fabric around her waste not fitting as tightly as it once did. She stared down at her blistered hands and continued her weeding.

"Ya see anythin'?" Matthew asked. He and Sully were sitting behind two large boulders on the edge of the property that Robert told them belonged to Warren. Robert had left them to go to the other side of the property but he told them to wait for him where they were. Sully did as told but was not happy about it. Knowing that Michaela was just inside the borders of the man's property, possibly hurt or hungry, was killing him inside. The only thing stopping him from entering the man's property was not the fact that he could have been shot but that he would be putting Matthew's life in danger, as well.

"No," Sully answered.

"Ya think she's really in there somewhere?" Sully didn't respond. "I was thinkin'…if this man, Robert's got somethin' against the man who lives here, what's to say he's not just sayin' that Dr. Mike's there so that we'll help him get even? I mean, how do we even know that this is Warren's property?"

"We don't."

"So we're just supposed to trust a man that we don't know? Look what happened last time ya did that."

As soon as Matthew said it, he regretted it. He knew that Dr. Mike always looked for the best in people and trusted most anyone. There was no way that either she or Sully could have known that Warren would have kidnapped Michaela. Matthew knew that Sully knew that, as well, but Matthew also knew that it didn't ease Sully's mind. He blamed himself for what happened. Matthew could only think that if it had been Sully and not him, he would blame himself, too.

"I didn't mean that," Matthew corrected.

"It's alright, Matthew," Sully assured him, knowing that he meant no harm. "I don't know that Michaela's in there but I know that I'm not goin' anywhere until I find out for sure if she's there or not."

"What do you wanna do?" Matthew asked, fingering the gun that he had attached to his hip. Sully didn't know that Matthew had brought the gun on their trip but he had packed it just in case. When they arrived at Robert's homestead to hide the horses, Matthew showed them both that he was not unarmed. Although Matthew knew that Sully disapproved of guns, he also knew that it could come in handy.

"I'm gonna get closer," Sully decided.

"And if Warren sees ya?"

"Then you run as fast as ya can. You go back to Colorado Springs and ya get help."

Matthew nodded. He placed his hand on Sully's shoulder and Sully began to bolt from behind the rock.

"Sully!" Matthew yelled before Sully got too far. Sully heard the shots go off as he raced back towards the rock where Matthew was hiding. "Did you get hit?"

"No," Sully answered, not even knowing where the shots were coming from.

"He must know we're here," Matthew announced.

"Those were just warnin' shots. If he wanted to kill me, he coulda."

"Now what're we gonna do?"

Before Sully could answer, he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Sully!"

Sully was about to stand when Matthew pulled him back next to him.

"That's Michaela!" Sully shouted. "Michaela!"

Matthew held him down.

"You get up and he'll kill ya for sure."

"She's here, Matthew, that's Michaela!"

"Then we know she's alive but you'll get yourself killed if you just try to run out there and save her."

"I told ya not to follow me!" A voice shouted. It was Warren's. "I warned ya but ya didn't listen!"

Sully tried to look over and around the rock but he could not see Warren or Michaela. The tall grass that surrounded them made it impossible for them to see very far. Warren was playing with them and they both knew it.

"What do you want?" Sully shouted back into the open air, unsure of where Warren's voice was coming from.

"I want ya to leave!"

"Not without Michaela!"

"She's mine now!"

"She'll never be yours!"

"Y'all just leave 'fore you get me real angry!"

"We're not leavin'!"

A gun shot ricocheted off the back of the rock. Matthew looked over at Sully, unsure of what to do.

"I told y'all to leave!" Warren shouted, obviously more angry.

"Sully, please go!" Michaela yelled, pleading to him. Her voice made him shudder. She sounded so tired. He hated himself for not being able to rescue her. He heard her scream, sure that Warren had hit her with something.

"I swear to you!" Sully yelled. "You hurt her and I'll kill ya with my bear hands! Don't care what happens to me but I will kill you!"

"Y'all betta get outta here or you I'll shoot her. I swear, I will."

Although it pained him to do so, Matthew grabbed Sully's sleeve and they ran. With each step they took, Sully wanted nothing more than to turn back and run to save her, not caring what happened to him. But he knew that he couldn't.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"I told y'all to not move and ta wait for me!" Robert barked.

"I wasn't gonna just sit back and wait until it was too late," Sully yelled in response.

"I told y'all he was crazy! Wouldn't think nothin' of killin' ya. He knows that he's protected under the law. He legally married her so he can do whatever he likes. If y'all step on his property, he can shoot ya and no one would ask him why."

The three men stood around Robert's table at his homestead. Matthew threw another log onto the fire that was in front of them.

"He didn't marry her," Sully stated through clenched teeth.

"According to the townsfolk, he did."

"She would never agree to marry him," Sully replied.

"In this town, no one much cares, Mr. Sully. He coulda poisoned her like he poisoned you, dragged her into the mayor's house in the middle of the night and married her without her even bein' awake. You see, Samuel's ma was well respected in this town. Real good lady with a good head on her shoulders. She was the town's midwife. Delivered almost all the people in the town. When she died, it tore the town up and they all vowed to help Samuel in any way they could even after he went crazy."

"Even help him marry a woman while she's sleepin'?" Sully inquired.

"Even that. 'Fraid the folks 'round here don't think of women as more than just objects. He probably told 'em she was just sick. The mayor would've married 'em anyway, I'm 'fraid."

Sully sighed, just thinking about Michaela being forced into marrying a man she didn't know while she was unconscious. He could not help but wonder if Michaela and the man had been together as married couples were. Had he forced her to be with him? Just thinking about it made Sully want to vomit. As he thought about what could have happened, he immediately thought back to the conversation that he and Michaela had in the woods before the storm started. She questioned if he would still love her if the dog soldiers hurt her in the same way that Warren possibly was. Faced with the same, horrible scenario again, Sully knew that in his heart, he would always love her. No matter what happened to her, no matter what anyone did to her, he would still love her. Even if she changed or needed more time before they got married, he would always love her.

"How can a town be so…sick?" Matthew asked.

"Samuel's lived here is whole life…grew up with the folks in the town," Robert answered. "Town's gotta stick together. Gotta protect their own."

"Marryin' a woman who's sleepin' isn't protectin'," Matthew stated.

As Matthew and Robert talked, Sully barely listened. He tried to shake his thoughts from his mind, knowing that they were doing nothing to help him get Michaela back.

"Warren…Samuel, whatever his name is, he never moved?" Sully questioned. Never lived in Wyomin' or Nebraska?"

"Warren ain't never left Kansas City 'cept for these past few days. When the town realized that he was gone, they all thought he was just lockin' himself in his homestead for a little while. He tends to do that from time to time."

"Why would he lie to you 'bout that, Sully?" Matthew wondered.

"Just tryin' to cover his tracks, I guess," Sully answered. "Probably figured if he lied 'bout everythin', wouldn't be no way I could find him."

"Then why'd he tell ya that he livin' in Kansas City?"

Sully shook his head. "Don't know."

"Maybe he's playin' a game," Robert suggested.

"A game?" Matthew questioned.

"Always loved playin' tricks on folks when he was a kid. Always askin' us all riddles. He liked playin' games. Maybe he told ya 'bout Kansas City 'cause he wanted ya to come lookin' for her. Maybe it's all part of a sick game," Robert explained.

"Well, if he is playin' a game then he ain't just crazy," Matthew stated. "He's pure evil."

"And no one in town cares that he's crazy?" Sully asked.

"I told ya, his ma was a good lady. The townsfolk would rather look the other way then admit that somethin's wrong with that man. They figure it's the least they can do for all the good that his ma did."

"Why didn't you do somethin' after he killed your sister," Matthew questioned.

"I told ya, I went to the town but they wouldn't hear it. Wasn't nothin' more that I could do."

"Coulda gotten a marshal from another town, one that didn't know his ma," Matthew suggested.

"And the town woulda stuck up for him. Just likes I said, the town sticks together. 'Sides, my sister wasn't exactly the best of characters. Folks didn't miss her much once she was gone."

"What do you mean by that?" Matthew asked.

Robert sighed. "She used ta be a saloon girl so most folks, 'cept for some of the gentlemen folk, weren't too broken up when Samuel said she died."

Sully sat at the table and held his head in his hands. He didn't know what to make of Warren or Samuel or whatever his name was. He didn't know what kind of game he was playing or even if he was playing a game at all. Had he really meant to tell Sully about Kansas City to lure him there or had he just said it by accident? Would he really kill Michaela or was he just using her as bait? All Sully knew was that he seemed to enjoy seeing other people in pain.

"We gotta go back," Sully announced, looking up at Matthew and Robert.

"He nearly shot ya both!" Robert exclaimed.

"He's hurtin' her!" Sully yelled back.

"But he won't kill her," Robert explained.

"How do ya know?" Sully questioned, angrily.

"'Cause he don't kill women. He may beat 'em and starve 'em to death but he wouldn't ever kill 'em."

"You sayin' that beatin' 'em and starvin' 'em ain't killin'?" Sully replied.

"I'm sayin' that he won't shoot her."

"He threatened to kill her when we was there," Sully cried.

"Only 'cause we was all there. He wouldn't just shoot her."

"How is it that ya know this man so well?"

Robert sighed. "When my sister first married him, I spent a lot of time thinkin' 'bout him and askin' folk about him. I knew that somethin' was wrong when he said that his other wives died of disease and things, I just couldn't figure out what it was. Trust me, he won't kill her, which gives us time."

"Time for what?" Matthew asked.

Matthew couldn't help but think their best chance was to ride into town and explain the whole situation to the sheriff. He wanted to wire Colorado Springs and get the posse together and bring them down there. He knew that Warren was dangerous but one gun couldn't match twenty.

"Time to come up with a plan," Robert replied. "The man thinks he's smarter than us. We just gotta be smarter than him."

"And how do we do that?" Matthew inquired.

Robert paused. "You really a cattleman, boy?"

Matthew nodded. "Why?"

"Well, you're the only one of us he ain't seen yet."

"What do you have in mind?" Sully asked.

Brian walked into Grace's café, his books, tied with a rope, banging into his knees as he walked. He had spent another night without his ma, in the clinic and he wasn't very happy about it. Grace noticed him walk in. She quickly served one of her customers breakfast and walked over to the boy.

"Hey Brian," she said, sweetly.

"Hi Grace," he replied.

"Say, would ya like to help me make another pie after school today?" Grace asked.

"No thanks, Grace."

"Oh, and why not?"

"Don't much feel like it," Brian answered, having no better reason than that.

Grace sighed, trying to think of something to cheer the boy up. "Colleen head off ta school yet?"

Brian shook his head. "Someone in Hank's saloon got cut up so Colleen's stichin' him."

"Your sister certainly is turnin' into a little doctor, ain't she?"

"Guess so."

"You wanna tell me what's troublin' you?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Just miss ma and Matthew and Sully is all," he answered.

"You worried about 'em?" Brian nodded. "Don't you worry, Brian, Sully and Matthew'll find her soon."

Brian looked up at her and Grace brought her hand to her mouth, forgetting the lie that her and Robert E had told the children so that they wouldn't worry. Truth was, she was so worried about them that she couldn't stop thinking about them.

"Why they gotta find her? I thought she was helpin' a sick family," Brian said.

"Well…she is, Brian. I just got mixed up is all," Grace replied, trying to fix her mistake. She knew that even the young boy was too smart to believe it. Seeing his face in anguish made her wish that they had never lied to the children in the first place. After all, it was their ma. Didn't they have a right to know what was going on?

"Where's ma?" He demanded to know. Some of the customers looked at him as he yelled.

"I told ya, Brian…"

"Where's ma?" He yelled. Grace put her hands on his shoulder, trying to calm him. "Where is she?"

"Now, Brian…"

Brian pulled away from her and ran through the café, causing quite a stir among the customers. Grace chased after him, not caring as one of her male customers shouted after her that he'd like another cup of coffee. Colleen was standing on the front steps of the clinic, telling the young man, who had been cut in the saloon, how to clean his wound to keep it from infection. She saw Brian dashing by. Colleen handed the man the ointment and chased after her brother, Grace not far behind.

"Brian!" Colleen shouted, having no idea what was going on or where her younger brother was headed.

Brian ran straight to Robert E's livery and did not stop until he ran straight into Robert E.

"Brian?" Robert E said, startled. He quickly put the horseshoe he was making in a bucket of water so as to cool it.

"Where's ma?" Brian shouted.

"What?"

"Where's ma and Sully and Matthew!" He repeated.

"Brian, ya know that ma and Sully are…" Colleen began.

Robert E looked at his wife as she approached. Tears were in her eyes. Robert E tried to think of something he could tell the young boy to make the news easier but he knew that there was nothing he could say. Robert E suddenly realized that they should never have lied to the children in the first place, even if they had their best interest in their minds.

"Where are they?" Brian yelled again, his fists clenched at his sides.

Robert E sighed, hating to see Brian in such pain and fury. "Your ma's missin', Brian," Robert E finally explained.

"Missin'?" Colleen cried. "What do ya mean, missin'?"

"She was kidnapped," Robert E continued. "When Sully woke up in the mornin' after seekin' shelter from the storm, Dr. Mike was gone."

"How come Sully didn't stop 'em?" Colleen asked.

Robert E shook his head, not sure how to explain the answer, knowing that he didn't exactly understand it himself.

"He'd been given some kinda…poison that made him sleepy," Robert E said. "He didn't wake up 'til Matthew and I went lookin' for 'em."

"Poison?" Colleen exclaimed.

"Where are they?" Brian demanded to know, interrupting his sister.

"Don't know exactly," Robert E replied. "They was headin' to Kansas City. That's where they thought he had taken your ma."

"He who?" Brian asked.

"Don't know that neither, Brian," Robert E responded.

"But we do know that Sully and Matthew are doin' everythin' they can to find your ma," Grace added in, trying to bring some hope to the fallen faces of the children.

"Why'd you tell us that they were with a sick family?" Colleen cried.

"Didn't think there was no reason to make worry ya," Robert E answered.

"All this time, I been askin' about ma and everyone's been tellin' me not to worry but she's gone. Someone's got her and we don't know who and we don't know where they are or what they're doin' to her. And now we don't even know where Sully and Matthew are. They could be hurt or…or kidnapped like Dr. Mike and we wouldn't know!" Brian shouted.

"Why didn't they come back for help?" Colleen asked.

"Sully didn't think it would be a good idea," Robert E explained.

"Sully'll find your ma," Grace assured them. "He's found her before. You just gotta keep hopin'."

"Hope what? Hope that your tellin' us the truth this time? Dr. Mike could be dead for all we know and you just ain't tellin' us!" Colleen shouted.

"Now Colleen…" Grace began. As she spoke, Brian began to run, tears running down his face. As he ran, Brian looked to the sky, praying to his real ma that he wouldn't once again be left an orphan.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Michaela tenderly moved her right arm, trying to reposition it. Pain shot up her arm, into her shoulder. She knew that her shoulder must have suffered severe damage but she could not tell if it was broken or just badly sprained. Her left side was not fairing much better, although she thought it was more bruised than seriously hurt. She was sitting in the same corner as she had woken up two days earlier, her head resting against the wall. She had been trying to sleep all night but she could not get comfortable. Her stomach had settled some since she had been given a small amount of bread to eat the night before but she was still starving. Her skirt barely stayed up anymore from having lost so much weight in such a small amount of time. Her mouth was constantly dry. She could not understand how one human being could treat another as she was being treated by Warren.

Michaela heard the door being creaked open and she tried to stand, knowing that Warren was adamant that she was ready to go when he wanted her to be. He stepped inside and Michaela noticed that he looked different. His clothing had been washed and pressed, his hair was combed, and he had obviously bathed.

"Figure it's about time," he said, closing the door behind him.

"Time for what?" Michaela asked meekly. She had learned not to ask a lot of questions but she could not figure out what he meant.

"Time we proved that we was married," he answered. Michaela held her breath, hoping that he did not mean what she thought he meant. Ever since Warren had told her that they were "married," Michaela had been waiting for and dreading the moment that he was now proposing.

"We're not married," Michaela yelled.

He walked over to her and yanked her right arm, causing her to scream out in pain. "When are you gonna learn that you are my wife and there ain't nothin' you can do 'bout it!"

"I will never be your wife!" She shouted. He pulled her towards him hard and kissed her. She tried to push him away but she had no strength left in her.

"Now, we gonna do this nice and proper," he said, pushing her onto the floor. She felt hard on her hip bone.

"No!" She screamed. Even though she knew that she had no energy left, she could not let him do what he intended to do without putting up a fight. "No!" She clawed and kicked at him, not caring what the repercussions would be. She would never give in to him. He pinned her arms over her head and began unfastening her loose skirt when there was a knock on the front door.

"Help me!" Michaela screamed, knowing that it was her only chance.

He quickly covered her mouth with his hand. She continued to scream, even though his hand muffled her. The knock came again. Quickly, Warren ripped a strip off Michaela's skirt and tied the fabric over her mouth. He ripped off two more pieces and tied her hands and feet together. Michaela imagined that he would have tied her to something had there been anything in the room. He knew that he had tied her feet and hands together so that she would have no chance or escaping when he opened the door.

"You stay here," he commanded, "and shut up or I'll kill ya. And when I'm done killin' ya, I'll find your children and kill them." She immediately stopped screaming. Although she had thought of following him out of the room, even while tied up, the thought left her mind as soon as he mentioned hurting her children. She would do anything, including die, for her children.

The knock was persistent. Warren finally left here there, slamming the door behind him. Michaela began to cry.

"Howdy," Matthew said, trying his best to use a deeper Southern accent.

"What can I do for ya?" Warren questioned.

"Heard you raise cattle," Matthew replied.

"Who wants to know?"

"I got myself a few cattle," Matthew explained. "Wonderin' if you wanted to buy 'em offa me."

"Why would I wanna buy your cattle?"

Matthew leaned in, lowering his voice. "Ya see, found myself sweet on a gal and we're gonna get married. Can't afford no ring, though, if I don't sell my cattle."

"A girl, huh?"

"Yes, sir."

"A pretty girl?"

"Real pretty." Matthew couldn't believe what he was saying. He wanted so badly to take the gun that was shoved in his boot and kill the man that stood before him but he knew that he would be dead before he even got the gun out of his boot. He saw the Warren's gun holster around his waist, and, knowing how smart Warren was, Matthew couldn't help but believe that he was also that good with a gun.

"I got a woman myself," Warren commented. Matthew's blood began to run cold, knowing that the man was referring to Dr. Mike. "A real pretty woman. I know what a pretty woman can do to a man. Why don't ya come inside and we'll have a chat 'bout how much you want for that cattle."

"How 'bout you come outside and take a look at 'em for yourself," Matthew suggested.

"You brought your cattle with ya?" Matthew nodded. "This woman better be pretty." Warren followed Matthew out the door.

As Sully and Robert watched Matthew and Warren exit the front the door, they ran around the back of the house. They stopped, hiding behind a bush, making sure that Warren didn't hear them. He hadn't. Sully had begged Robert that they carry out their plan immediately after they had come up with it, the day before. Robert told him that, with all of the excitement that had gone on the day before, Warren would be expecting them to come back so they would have to wait. Sully didn't like the idea but he had gone along with it, believing with all his might that Michaela was strong enough to survive one more night with the man.

Sully watched Matthew show Warren the two cows that they had brought with them from Robert's farm. He watched as Matthew told him that he had come with six cows and that four of them must have run off. Matthew led Warren away from the front door and into the tall grass, looking for his "missing" cattle. Sully immediately bolted for the front door, leaving Robert behind. Robert had offered to go in with Sully but Sully knew that someone had to be the lookout for him and that, if something happened to him, someone had to get word back to Colorado Springs.

"Michaela," Sully whispered as he quietly snuck through the house. He walked slowly, checking to make sure that the house hadn't been booby trapped. Sully almost couldn't believe that they had gotten into the house so easily. Perhaps Warren wasn't as smart as they thought he was.

Michaela sat, staring at the door. She tried desperately to think of a way that she could escape but, being in as much pain as she was, she could barely think. She heard the footsteps outside her door and she held her breath.

"Michaela," Sully whispered, this time louder. The fear crept over him that the reason why she couldn't hear him was because she was gone. Sully fell to his knees. At that point, he didn't care whether he lived or died. "Please Michaela!" He cried, this time loudly.

Michaela let her breath out and all of her pain seemed to disappear. Outside, Warren took out his gun.

"Sully!" Michaela shouted with everything she had left inside of her. Her voice was muffled by the gag that was tied around her mouth but Sully distinctly heard his name. His heart leapt.

"Michaela!"

"Sully!"

He raced to the other side of the room and began feeling the wall with his hands. Finally, he saw a small hole, just the right size for a key. He began to kick the door wildly.

Robert sprang to action as soon as he heard Warren fire his gun. He ran into the woods where their horses were waiting, hopped on his own horse, and galloped to the front of the homestead with the two other horses behind him. He saw Warren and Matthew off in the field, rolling among the grass, fighting one another. He rode up to the door way, shouting inside.

"I've gotta help Mattthew!" He shouted. "Good luck, my friend!" Robert galloped away before Sully could reply, leaving Sully's horse behind. Sully knew that the plan was that, if Warren had realized why they were there, Robert was to help Matthew and get them both out of there. Sully would have to fend for himself.

"It's no use!" Michaela shouted through the doorway. "It's solid wood!"

"Hang on, Michaela!" Sully shouted, tears stinging his eyes. He heard another gunshot outside and he only prayed that the gun was not pointed at Matthew or Robert. Sully grabbed his tomahawk from his waste and began hitting the door repeatedly where the key hole was. As he knocked off chunks of wood, the lock finally came free and the door swung open. Sully gasped as he saw Michaela sitting tied up on the floor.

"Hold it!" Warren yelled. Sully immediately turned around and stood between Warren and Michaela. Warren stood at the front door, rifle in hand. For the first time in his life, Sully wished he had a gun. "Whatcha think you're doin', Mr. Sully?"

"Let her go," Sully said through clenched teeth.

"She's my wife," Warren insisted.

"She ain't your wife."

"The folk in town would say somethin' different, Mr. Sully as they all attended our weddin'. A woman becomes a man's property once she marries 'em. Ain't no one gonna let you take my wife away from me."

"Don't matter what those folk will or not let me do. I will take her away from you."

Sully quickly glanced down at the floor behind him where he had dropped his tomahawk when he finally got through the door. He knew that if he made one move for it, Warren would shoot him on the spot.

"You ain't even got a gun," Warren pointed out.

Michaela felt helpless. Even if she was not tied up, she wondered if she would even have the strength to stand and help Sully is some way. She was at a loss, just as she knew Sully was.

"I am beggin' ya ta let her go," Sully pleaded, ready to try any tactic.

"I told ya! She's my wife!"

Sully didn't know how to respond nor did he know what to do. He could tell by just the brief look he had at Michaela when he burst through the door that she needed immediate nourishment and medical attention. She would not survive another day with that man. And yet, Sully knew that even if he was to risk his own life, which he was more than willing to do, it would do Michaela no good and she would die soon after from neglect.

"I'll give ya anythin' ya want," Sully begged. "Ya can do whatever ya want ta me. Just let her go."

Michaela swallowed a hard lump in her throat, hearing the words that Sully was saying. She knew that he would give his life for her but they had never been in such an instance where he may actually have to make good on his promise.

"You try anythin' and I swear to ya that I'll kill them two children she's always talkin' 'bout."

Michaela winced at the mention of her children, knowing that Sully was probably doing the same thing. She knew that he loved them as much as she did and would give his life for them as she would.

"You won't get nowhere near those children," Sully said. He scanned the room, looking for any kind of weapon.

"Ya don't make good on your promises too often, do ya, Mr. Sully? Couldn't protect your precious fiancé, here. You claim ya love her but now she's married to another man. If you can't protect one person laying right beside ya, what makes you think you're gonna be able to protect them youngin's?"

As Michaela listened to what Warren was saying, she realized that she was hidden from Warren's view behind the wall. She could not see him and he could not see her, even though they both knew of each other's presence. Michaela noticed the tomahawk by Sully's feet. She looked at her bound hands and feet and wondered if she would have any chance of reaching it without Warren noticing.

"Guess ya didn't hear your pretty little fiancé here screamin' your name when I took her."

Warren's words pierced Sully's heart. Michaela had called for him. She had called for him to protect her and he hadn't. He had let her down. Michaela could feel Sully's heart breaking, knowing that Warren knew all the right things to say to hurt Sully the most.

"She put up quite a fuss, your little lady. Didn't quite like bein' manhandled. I hafta say, I enjoyed it."

Michaela wanted to scream to make Warren stop talking. The only thing stopping her was the tomahawk that lay on the ground next to Sully. She knew that she had no choice.

"She needs a real man to keep her in line. 'Fraid you ain't man enough."

Sully was paralyzed to do anything. No matter what he thought of to get out of the situation, nothing would work. He and Michaela were destined to die in the hands of that man. He had never given up in his entire life but hearing what Warren said about Michaela shouting for him, he could not pull himself together. He could not see past the fact that he had failed her. He knew that the only thing he could do would be to make sure that no more harm came to her before she died. He at least owed her that.

As quietly as possible, Michaela slid herself across the floor. When she saw that she was close enough to the door, but still hidden from Warren's view, she reached out her arms and felt the smooth handle of the tomahawk between her fingers. With her feet against the wall, she pushed herself into the hallway, catching both Warren and Sully by surprise. With her two hands together, she brought the tomahawk as far behind her head as she could and she threw it as the gun went off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Michaela!" Sully shouted as Michaela's body went limp.

Warren had fallen to his knees and was scrambling for his gun. As much as Sully wanted to hold Michaela in his arms, he lunged for Warren, noticing the blood trickling from his leg. Although Sully never knew Michaela to have ever thrown a tomahawk in her entire life, she had managed successfully to hit him in the knee. Sully tackled him, kicking his gun farther away from him in the process. They fought on the ground, Warren throwing a few good punches Sully's way. For the most part, however, Sully was able to duck or move before Warren's fist could make contact with Sully's body. Eventually, Sully pinned Warren to the ground and knocked him unconscious. Sully immediately reached for the gun and held it over the man's body. He placed his finger on the trigger but he could not pull it. He thought of all of the things that the man did, or could have done to Michaela, but he could not pull the trigger. Sully knew that if someone found out about it, he would be charged with murder because he was stealing Warren's "wife" from him. But more than that, Sully could not help the fact that he loathed guns and could not imagine ever killing, even the man who lay before him, with one.

Satisfied that Warren was, in fact, unconscious, Sully ran to Michaela whose body was covered in her own blood. As Michaela had thrown the tomahawk, Warren had fired his gun. The bullet whizzed by Sully and hit Michaela square in the shoulder before Sully even knew what was going on.

"Michaela!" Sully cried, tapping her loosely on the cheek. There was no response. Sully looked at her chest. It was barely rising and falling. He knew that he was losing her. Sully quickly scooped her up in his arms, knowing that there was nothing he could do for her there and ran out of the homestead. He placed her gently across the back of his horse and then hopped on behind her and rode off. He could not take his eyes off of her as he rode. Her whole body was bruised, her right arm badly mangled. Her hair was matted and her once beautiful skin was callused, bruised, and dirty. Her clothing was torn and filthy and her fingers bled. As Sully rode, the tears in his eyes blurred his vision.

"Sully!" Matthew yelled as Sully galloped past him and Robert. As Sully heard his name, he pulled on the reins, stopping his horse. Matthew, with Robert not far behind, quickly rode over to where Sully stopped. Sully had forgotten that they had chosen to meet in that spot if anything happened.

"Dr. Mike!" Matthew yelled, brushing her hair away from her face. He stared at her bloody shoulder.

"She's hurt real bad," Sully exclaimed.

"We gotta get her to a doc," Robert said. "There's a hospital in town."

"Can't take her to a hospital," Sully replied.

"Sully, she's gotta go or she'll die!" Matthew shouted.

"That's the first place he'll look," Sully explained. "We gotta take her somewhere where she'll be safe."

"And if we wait too long, she'll die!" Matthew responded.

"Ya didn't kill him?" Robert questioned.

Sully looked over at Matthew and did not say anything in response. He knew that only Matthew would be able to understand why Sully could not take the life of even the one man he wanted to kill more than anyone else. Although Matthew carried a gun, Sully knew that shooting it was not his favorite thing to do.

"What're we gonna do?" Matthew asked.

"You're gonna go back to Colorado Springs." Sully instructed.

"What?"

"Ya gotta go, Matthew."

"I ain't goin' nowhere!" Matthew argued.

"Warren thinks he's got a right to your ma 'cause he thinks they're married. If he can't find her, he's goin' after Brian and Colleen."  
"How do ya know that?"

"He told me." Sully sighed, knowing that Michaela was was running out of time but he still didn't know what to do. "You gotta go back and protect 'em, Matthew. Your ma won't ever forgive herself if anythin' happens to 'em…and neither will you. Besides, there ain't nothin' ya can do now. We found her. Now we just gotta get her some help and pray that she's strong."

"Ain't no one stronger than Dr. Mike," Matthew commented.

Sully smiled. "She's just gotta prove it one more time."

Matthew nodded. He didn't want to leave but he knew that it was up to him to protect Brian and Colleen. He knew that Robert E and Grace would do anything they could to protect them but he also knew that Sully was right. If anything happened to them, he would never forgive himself for not being there.

"We gotta go. We'll find a doc somewhere," Sully said.

Matthew quickly kissed Michaela on the forehead and shook Sully's hand.

"I'll be prayin' for her," Matthew said.

"You just worry 'bout protectin' your brother and sister," Sully replied.

Robert began to ride off and Sully followed, more slowly so as not to jostle Michaela.

"Sully!" Matthew yelled after them. Sully stopped and turned. "What do I tell Matthew and Colleen about ma?"

"Tell 'em…" Sully paused. "Tell 'em that their ma loves 'em very much," he finally said. Matthew nodded and watched Sully and Robert ride out of sight.

Brian stood in front of the candy jars at the general store. He stared at the multi-colored candies but his mind was far from their sweetness. He couldn't stop thinking about where his ma was at that moment. He was bursting to tell someone about it besides Grace, Robert E, and Colleen. They all just kept telling him that he shouldn't worry but he sensed that they were just as worried as he was.

Loren noticed Brian from across the store. It wasn't uncommon for the boy to take his time looking at the candy, but Brian would have made his choice by now or he would have asked Loren if there was anything new since the last time he was there. Brian hadn't even said hello to him when he entered the store.

"Decided what you want?" Loren asked, walking over to him.

"Don't think I want any candy today, Mr. Bray," Brian answered.

"No candy?" Loren replied, knowing that there was definitely something wrong with the boy. "But you always want candy."

Brian almost forgot that Loren didn't know that his ma had been kidnapped. Brian looked at the older man and quickly hugged him. Although surprised, Mr. Bray hugged him back.

"What's wrong, boy?"

"Mr. Bray, if somethin' happens to ma, can I live with you?" Brian asked him.

Mr. Bray didn't know what to say.

"Nothin's gonna happen to your ma," Loren assured him.

"But if somethin' did happen to her. Ya wouldn't let 'em send me away to an orphanage or nothin' would ya?"

Loren shook his head. He had no idea what was going on but he knew that something had deeply disturbed Brian.

"'Course not."

"Promise me you'd take care of me," Brian pleaded.

"I promise, boy, I promise." Brian held onto him more tightly, crying.

Sully knocked on the door once more. He and Robert had ridden nearly twenty miles out of town. Sully wished that they could have gotten further but he knew that Michaela wouldn't make it. As it was, she was barely breathing and the bleeding had not lessened even though Sully had placed a cloth over it as she would have instructed, had she been awake. Sully knew that the bullet was still lodged in her body somewhere.

"Maybe he ain't home," Robert suggested.

Sully banged again, looking over at Michaela who was slumped over the back of his horse. They had been looking everywhere for a doctor but they hadn't found one. Finally, Sully saw a sign from a distance that said clinic on it. The sign was leaning against the wall at the back of an older looking building. The building was in the middle of nowhere, which Sully was thankful for. Sully prayed that the door he was knocking on actually was the door to a clinic and that the sign was not just being used for old firewood by some family. When no one answered the door after a few minutes of banging, Sully thought of going back into town to the hospital even if there was a better chance that they would be found there.

Sully knocked again and finally, the door opened.

"What?" The man asked angrily. By the man's disheveled attire and hair, Sully guessed that he had been asleep. He was an older man, probably in his sixties. He wore spectacles that were perched at the end of his nose. What little hair he had left was grey and it stuck out in all directions.

"Are you a doctor?" Sully questioned.

"What do you want?" The man barked. He was obviously not very happy to have been woken up.

"Please, I saw the sign for the clinic in the back and I need a doctor," Sully explained.

"You look fine to me."

"My fiancé needs a doctor," Sully corrected, pointing the man to Michaela. He moved towards her, about ready to take her off the horse. He knew, though, that if the man in front of him was not a doctor, taking Michaela off the horse would only cause her more damage.

"Take her to the hospital in town then," the man replied.

"Please, sir, we can't," Sully said. "Please, are you a doctor?" The man walked slowly out to the horse that held Michaela. Although Sully expected the man to start looking over Michaela's wounds, he brushed the hair out of her face and stared at her closed eyes.

"I know this woman," he said.

Sully nearly panicked, wondering if the man meant that he recognized her as Warren's "wife."

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong person," Sully said, about ready to climb back on his horse.

"Dr. Quinn," the man said. "Dr. Michaela Quinn from Boston. I went to the lecture she gave in Boston last year."

"So you are a doctor?"

"Her remedy could have saved lots of patients," the man explained. "I tried telling the docs about it at the hospital but they wouldn't hear of it. Said that kind of medicine doesn't have any place in their hospital. Don't know if they wouldn't use it because it was Indian medicine or because it was presented by a woman. I suppose it was a little bit of both. It's a shame, really."

"Please, sir, she needs your help," Sully begged.

The man sighed. "Bring her in."

Hours later, Sully stood outside the room where he had laid Michaela tenderly on a small cot. Although Sully begged to stay by her side, the doctor ordered him out of the room to stand in the hallway. The clinic was smaller than Michaela's, having only the one room and the hallway. Sully guessed that the man lived above the clinic. Robert had gone outside to tend to the horses and keep a look out for any sign of trouble.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Sully asked as the doctor emerged from the room.

"Managed to get the bullet out but she lost a lot of blood. Looks like it got infected some, too. I sewed up some of her other cuts and put some medicine on her bruises. Her shoulder's broken and she needs to eat and get some fluids in her."

"But is she gonna be alright. Is she gonna wake up?"

The man shook his head. "I just don't know. It's up to her now."

Sully sighed. "Thank you. Can I see her now?"

The doctor nodded and Sully entered the small room. Michaela was lying on the small cot, her small body covered with a large quilt. Her face was badly bruised but she looked peaceful in her sleep. Sully leaned over and kissed her lightly, a tear falling from his cheek onto hers. Sully sat beside the bed on a stool, holding her hand as gently as possible.

"If you brought someone to me with these injuries," the doctor said, "I would have told you that they wouldn't be alive. She's a strong lady."

"Yes, she is," Sully agreed.

"I'm Doc Hall," the doctor said. Sully hadn't realized that he hadn't even known the man's name. Sully shook his hand as the doctor dragged over another stool. "Sorry about the reception I gave you earlier. I'm afraid that I haven't been practicing since they built that hospital. Folks would rather go to them fancy doctors then come to my clinic so I closed it and retired."

"You saw Michaela speak in Boston?"

Doc Hall nodded. "Last medical conference I went to. She was a real good speaker. I have to admit that I wasn't too happy about listening to a woman doctor but she certainly is a smart lady." Sully nodded. "I have to tell you, though, I didn't let you in here because I saw her speak in Boston."

"Then why did you?"

He sighed. "I was a doctor for thirty-five years out here. Moved out here from Chicago when I was twenty-six to start a new practice where there were no doctors. I've seen my share of patients here and I've lost my share of patients. I've seen husbands lose their wives in childbirth. I've seen women lose their children from snake bites and such. I've seen folks lose their kind from everything you can imagine. But I have never seen a person in this clinic with such love in their eyes for another human being as you have for this woman. That's what made me open my doors for you. I respect Dr. Quinn very much but I would have sent you to that hospital if I didn't see that look in your eye."

"I love her with every part of my soul," Sully replied. "She's my heart song."

"Well, that may be just what Dr. Quinn needs to make it through this."

"What's that?"

"Knowing that there's someone here waiting for her when she wakes up. Knowing that she'll be loved for the rest of her life." Doc Hall stood up, placing the stool back in the corner of the room. "You stay with her. I'll just be in the other room if you need me."

"I don't know how I'll ever thank you," Sully said.

"You promise me that you won't ever let her go and that'll be thanks enough."

Sully nodded. "I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Matthew galloped through the main street of town and rode straight to the clinic. Although he caught a few stares, no one much seemed to care about his return. When he reached the clinic, he hopped off his horse, not even bothering to tie it to a post. He burst through the front door. Colleen screamed at the sudden noise, dropping her broom. As Matthew ran to embrace his sister, Brian came running down the stairs, startled by his sister's scream.

"Matthew!" Brian exclaimed, rushing to hug his brother.

"Where's Dr. Mike?" Colleen asked.

"She's helpin'…"

"We know she was kidnapped, Matthew," Brian cut him off. He was disappointed in Matthew for lying to them even though he knew that Matthew was only trying to protect them.

"Did you find her?" Colleen inquired.

Matthew quickly went to the clinic door and closed it, not wanting the whole town to hear their conversation.

"We found her," Matthew assured her.

"Where is she?" Brian questioned.

"Is she hurt?" Colleen asked.

"I don't know where she is right now. Sully and I found her and Sully went to bring her to get help."  
"Help? What kind of help?" Brian inquired.

"She was hurt," Matthew explained. "She was shot and pretty badly beat."

"But she's gonna be alright, isn't she, Matthew?" Brian asked.

Matthew shook his head. "She was hurt pretty bad. I don't know."

"Ma said that sometimes when people get hurt by other people, they change. I don't want Dr. Mike to change," Brian mumbled.

Matthew knelt down in front of Brian so that he could look him in the eye. "She ain't gonna change, Brian. No matter what, she's always gonna be our ma and she's always gonna love us."

"Why didn't Sully bring her back here?" Colleen questioned.

"He had to get her medical help as soon as possible," Matthew replied. "Besides, there ain't no doctor here to look after her." Matthew sighed, not knowing if he should tell them why he had raced back in such a hurry, leaving Sully to take care of Dr. Mike. "The man who kidnapped Dr. Mike…he might be after you two."

"Us?" Colleen stuttered.

"He threatened that he'd hurt y'all if we took Dr. Mike away from him."

"He's gonna come hurt us?" Brian asked.

"I don't know, little brother, but I'm here to make sure that that doesn't happen. Everythin's gonna be alright. When Dr. Mike's better, Sully'll bring her back and everythin's gonna be fine. We just gotta be careful. I don't want you two goin' anywhere but school and the clinic. I'll drop ya off in the mornin' and pick ya up in the afternoon."

"What if he comes while we're in school?" Brian wondered.

"Then I'll stay by the school house and stand guard."

The clinic door opened.

"Or, you can tell the reverend," the reverend suggested as he stepped inside the clinic, closing the door behind him.

"Reverend," Matthew said, startled. He couldn't decide if he should start denying what they had been talking about or if he should just tell the reverend what was going on.

"Matthew."

"We was just…"

"I heard everythin'." Matthew sighed, cursing himself for not making sure that no one was listening to what he was saying. "Ya can't tell no one, reverend for Dr. Mike's safety."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Robert E and...and I imagine Grace knows that Dr. Mike was kidnapped but I haven't told 'em that we found her. I just got back ta town and I had ta make sure that Brian and Colleen were alright."

"Ya gotta tell the rest of the town, Matthew. They can all help."

"We can't."

"But they can go find her…and Sully."

"Sully's findin' her a doctor. Nothin' else the townsfolk can do."

"They can help ya look after Colleen and Brian."

"The only thing the townsfolk'll do is stir up trouble and Sully and Dr. Mike don't need that right now."

"Matthew…"

"Please reverend," Matthew pleaded. "Don't tell no one. Least not 'till we know what's goin' on. Sully'll contact us if it's safe. But you gotta trust me, reverend."

The reverend nodded. "But if you need anythin', I'm here to help."

"Thank you," Matthew said. The reverend headed for the clinic door when a sudden thought came to Matthew.

"Maybe ya can help, reverend," Matthew said.

"What can I do?"

"What do ya know 'bout the laws of marryin'?"

"What do ya mean?"

"If there was a weddin' and one of the person's wasn't…awake for it and couldn't say I do, does that mean they're married?"

Although not sure why Matthew was asking him such questions, the reverend felt compelled to answer. "Well, no," he said. "The law clearly states that both the man and woman have to say I do or the marriage doesn't count. Why are you askin' that, though?"

Matthew paused for a moment, composing his thoughts. If Sully had gotten Michaela out of harms way so that Warren couldn't find them and if Matthew could somehow prove that Michaela hadn't agreed to the marriage, he could get a marshal to arrest Warren and Sully would be able to take Dr. Mike home. Sully told him not to tell anyone in town about what had happened but wasn't that their best chance? Even if Michaela did get better, wouldn't she just have to keep running from Warren unless they somehow proved that they were never married to begin with?

"Reverend," Matthew began, "I need to send a telegram."

Sully held Michaela's small hand, caressing the top of her hand with his thumb. He hadn't left her room in the three days since they had been there. Doc Hall looked in on her constantly but Sully knew that there was nothing he could for her that he hadn't already done. Sully knew that it was up to Michaela now even though he hated the fact that he could do nothing but sit beside her and watch her slip away. Robert had gone back home the day before, even though he insisted that he would stay to make sure that Sully and Michaela got back to Colorado Springs safely if Michaela ever woke up. Sully appreciated his help but he needed to be alone with her.

Doc Hall entered the room and began checking Michaela's gunshot wound, lifting the blood soaked bandages and checking for infection.

"How are you doing?" He asked Sully.

"There's no change," Sully replied.

"I didn't ask you how she was doing, I asked how you were doing." He pointed to a tray of food that he had brought Sully that morning. "You haven't eaten anything."

"Haven't been too hungry," Sully admitted.

"You have to stay strong for her…emotionally and physically."

Sully sighed. "I keep thinkin' that maybe my love ain't good enough." He paused. "Maybe I just gotta accept that she ain't gonna make it."

"True love is always good enough, Mr. Sully."

Doc Hall excused himself and Sully picked up a piece of bread that Doc had left him that morning. He began to eat it slowly and quietly, knowing that Doc was right. He would be no good to Michaela if he had no strength left.

"Michaela," Sully whispered. "I know that sometimes, it ain't always easy for us. I know that we argue and sometimes we think that we don't got much in common but I know that what we do have in common is our love for each other. Michaela, I can't live without ya. Every breath I take is for you. Every mornin' I wake up and I get out of bed 'cause of you. Every night I try an' sleep but I can't sleep 'cause you ain't with me. I wanna fall asleep every night with you in my arms. I want us ta get married. I want us ta raise our children together and maybe…maybe have some of our own. I want us ta grow old together and watch our grandchildren grow. Michaela, I didn't know what life could be 'til I met you. I keep askin' myself what my life would be if I hadn't met ya and I know that it wouldn't have been a life at all. Ya saved me, Michaela. Ya gotta be strong and ya gotta get well 'cause I can't do this without ya…and neither can Matthew or Colleen or Brian. We all love ya so much."

Sully kissed her forehead. He got up off the stool and kneeled by her bedside, placing his head next to hers on her pillow. He held her hand tightly and he closed his eyes, trying to remember all of the good times that they had. He tried to remember moments when she would just look into his eyes and he knew that he loved her. Moments where they would do nothing at all but sit and enjoy each other's company. He prayed that he could just have one more moment with her and he began to cry.

"Sully," a soft, voice said in a whisper that was barely comprehendible.

Sully looked up slowly, not sure if he had imagined the sound. As he looked at Michaela's face, he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen – her two gorgeous eyes staring back at him.

"Michaela!" Sully cried, kissing her lips lightly. "Oh Michaela."

"Sully," she whispered. Her voice sounded tired and unsteady. It was not the voice of the outspoken women that Sully knew but he knew that she had to recover still and that she would get her voice back.

"I thought I lost you."

"You could never lose me." She managed a weak smile at him even though she was in pain. "Where am I?"

"A clinic…just outside Kansas City."

"Kansas City?" Michaela asked.

Sully nodded. "You don't remember?"

Michaela closed her eyes, trying to figure out what she did remember. Bits and pieces of the last few days came flooding back to her but she couldn't seem to piece them together.

"I remember saying goodnight to you and falling asleep in Warren's homestead. And I remember…I remember waking up in a strange room and working…working in the fields." Sully winced at the thought of her working for that man. "And then I remember…you came and you saved me."

Sully shook his head. "You saved us."

Michaela looked at him in bewilderment.

"The tomahawk," she remembered. "But I wasn't even able to lift it."

"You lifted it. You lifted it and you threw it." She gasped, the memory slowly coming back to her. "And ya hit him."

"Did I kill him?"

"No but ya did get a pretty good shot at his leg. He fell and I was able to fight him."

"Are you alright?"

Sully couldn't help but smile at Michaela's concern. "I'm fine."

"And Samuel?"

Sully kissed the back of her hand, not sure how she would react if he told her that he did not have the guts to kill him. Even after all Warren did to her, Sully could not pull the trigger. He wondered if she would ever be able to forgive him.

"I didn't kill him," Sully admitted. "I could have but…but I couldn't."

Michaela sighed. "I'm glad you didn't kill him, Sully."

"How can you say that? After what he did to you…to us."

"Because the Sully I know…the Sully that I love…would not have killed him. Because his heart is so full of love that even when faced with such evil, he would not be able to kill. Because he believes in second chances…in hope."

"Oh Michaela." He kissed her hand once more.

"Matthew…" she said. "Matthew was there, wasn't he? I heard someone say his name."

Sully nodded. "He's fine…nothin' happened to him."

"Where is he?"

"Back in Colorado, watchin' over Brian and Colleen."

"The children!" Michaela cried, trying to sit up in bed. She fell back down, her entire body in pain.

"They're alright," Sully soothed.

"But how do you know. He threatened our children…"

"Matthew's with 'em. So is Robert E and Grace. Nothin's gonna happen to 'em, Michaela. Ya just gotta focus on gettin' better. We'll be with 'em soon."

Michaela calmed, even though she wanted nothing more than to be with her children at the moment. She could not help but think that Samuel could have taken them just as he took her. If that were true, she would never forgive herself.

"I'm sorry, Michaela," Sully said quietly.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

He swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat. "Sorry that I wasn't there for ya. That I didn't protect ya."

"Sully, you've always been there for me."

"Not when he took ya. When he took ya I was sleepin' in the next room, Michaela. I was right there and I didn't help ya. I let him take ya…I let him…"

"You didn't let him take me, Sully," she explained to him.

"But I didn't stop him."

"There was nothing you could have done."

"But ya were screamin' my name and…"

"I don't remember that, Sully," Michaela assured him. "I just remember going into that little room and falling asleep and then waking up somewhere totally different. I don't remember him taking me, Sully. I don't remember calling your name. When I woke up, I just remember thinking that if he had done something to you…that if he had killed you…I would never be able to forgive myself for that."

"He gave me something, Michaela, something that made me tired. I didn't wake up until Matthew and Robert E came looking for me and when I realized you were gone I…"

"I know," Michaela replied.

Sully would never be able to express to her how he felt knowing that he wasn't there for her. Knowing that she did not blame him, however, just made him love her more.

"I should get Doc Hall," Sully announced.

"Doc Hall?"

"He's the doctor who's been takin' care of ya."

"But Kansas City has a hospital," Michaela pointed out, confused.

"Couldn't take ya to the hospital, Michaela. Warren'd come lookin' for ya. He thinks…"

"We're married," she finished, finally remembering that important detail.

Sully nodded.

"I didn't want to marry him, Sully."

"I know," he responded.

"I don't even remember doing it."

"We're gonna figure this out, Michaela. We're goinna figure it out together."

Michaela suddenly remembered the moment before Sully had rescued her. She remembered what Samuel had told her, what he wanted to do with her. She suddenly realized what Sully must be thinking.

"Sully…"

"Yes?"

"Right before you rescued me…Samuel told me that it was time that we were together as husband and wife…"

Sully put his hand up, stopping her from talking. "I don't care 'bout that, Michaela," he said. "I don't care what he did or didn't do to ya. I don't care what the dog soldiers did or could have done to ya. All I care about is you. All I care about is being with you and loving you. Nothin' could make me love you less. Nothin' could ever keep me from lovin' you."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I love you," she said.

"I love you, too."

He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, this time more deeply. He had forgotten the love that he felt when they were that close.

"There was someone else," Michaela said as their kissed ended. "Someone else who helped save me. He yelled to you that he was going to help Matthew, didn't he?"

Sully nodded. "His name was Robert. If it wasn't for him, we'd most likely all be dead."

"I'd like to thank him."

"That won't be necessary," Robert said as he pushed the door of the room open.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Robert," Sully said, startled.

Sully stood and shook Robert's hand, never releasing Michaela's hand from his own.

"Mr. Sully," Robert replied.

"I'd like you to finally meet my fiancé, Michaela Quinn." Sully introduced.

Robert tipped his hat. "Ms. Quinn."

"Dr. Quinn," Sully corrected.

Michaela smiled as Sully corrected him. It seemed always that she was correcting people when they didn't believe that she was a real doctor and it felt empowering to have someone else stand up for her.

"It's nice to meet you," Michaela said quietly. "Thank you for helping to save my life."

"As I said, no thanks necessary, ma'am," he responded.

"I thought you went back to Kansas City," Sully remarked.

"Wanted to make sure that your fiancé here pulled through."

"Thank you for your concern," Michaela replied.

"Fact is, I didn't just come here ta make sure she was alright," Robert admitted. "Came here ta take her back where she belongs." Sully looked at him strangely, having no idea what he meant. "A woman's gotta be held ta her promise."

"What promise?" Sully questioned.

"The promise she makes when she marries a man," Robert answered.

"What are you talking about?" Sully asked.

"I'm sayin' that she belongs to Samuel."

"Sully…" Michaela said, unsure of what to do or say. Sully turned to her quickly and gave her a reassuring look but he wasn't quite sure what was going on, either. "Ya don't get it, do you, Mr. Sully?"

"Get what?"

"Ya'll asked me how I knew Samuel so well…"

"Because of your sister…"

"Ain't no sister, Mr. Sully. Just my brother and me."

"Your brother? Samuel's your brother?"

"Twin brother…only one I got."

Sully suddenly reached for his tomahawk. Robert pulled a gun from the holster attached to his hip.

"I don't understand," Sully stuttered. Nothing seemed to make sense to him. He wished that he was just in a bad dream and that he would wake up in his lean-to in the woods at any moment but he knew that it was no dream.

"All part of the game, Mr. Sully. Ya see, our momma was a real nice lady. Always helped the townsfolk, raised us good. Delivered all the babies in town, my mama did. Half the town wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. On the night of our eighteenth birthday, my momma got word that one of the ladies in town was goin' in to labor. My mama left to deliver that baby but she didn't ever come back. That woman who had that baby killed my momma 'cause that baby died. Wasn't my momma's fault but she done killed her anyway. Ain't never felt pain like that day I lost our momma."

"What does that have to do with us?" Sully asked.

"It wasn't fair what happened to our momma. Wouldn't have happened if my momma didn't try to deliver that baby. My momma'd still be here if she weren't a midwife. Wasn't fair, the pain we felt. Others should hafta feel that pain we felt and we had ta make sure that no one else would die on account of babies bein' born."

"So ya married women and killed 'em so that they would feel the same pain you did?"

"Didn't kell 'em, Mr. Sully. Just treated 'em like they should be treated. They just wasn't strong 'nough to survive."

"Why us? Why leave a trail for me ta follow ya?"

"Everyone's gotta feel pain some time, Mr. Sully, and women gotta pay for what they did, havin' babies and killin' our mam. We watched y'all for a while."

"Watched us?" Sully asked.

"Yes, sir. Watched ya for quite a while. Knew that the day y'all were takin' that picnic would be our best shot. Watched ya that entire day 'til ya stumbled upon Samuel."

"Those noises I heard in the woods," Michaela said. "It wasn't an animal, it was you."

"She really is a smart lady, ain't she?"

"But why us?" Sully asked again.

"We knew that your fiancé here delivered babies and helped women. We figured, why cause just one person pain when we can cause pain in lots of folk at once. We saw the family y'all had and figured that it would be perfect."

"You're sick," Michaela whispered, tears streaming down her face at the thought of Robert and Samuel watching her and her children.

"No ma'am, just doin' the world a favor," he replied.

"Why help us, then? Why help get her back?" Sully asked.

"Was all part of the game, Mr. Sully. We both knew that ya wouldn't just let her go without puttin' up a fight. From watchin' ya all that time, we knew 'xactly what we was doin' and how to separate y'all. Samuel and me brought ya to Kansas City and then I just waited for Mr. Sully here to come inta town, lookin' for her. Samuel knew the plan, Mr. Sully, knew every step of it. Why do ya think he didn't kill that son of yours? He coulda killed him in that field while they were off lookin' for them cows but he didn't 'cause he knew that he would feel more pain knowin' that he coulda saved his ma but he didn't."

"But the gunshot. There was a gunshot," Sully remembered.

"Just ta scare ya, Mr. Sully. Just ta scare ya. But we ain't killers, Mr. Sully."

"Not killers? He shot her!" Sully exclaimed.

"Wasn't supposed to happen like that. He was just playin' with ya. He knew that ya'll had no plan for escape, that you'd do whatever you could if you thought it would help her. He was gonna tie ya up, too while she continued bein' his wife. Let ya see how that felt."

Sully shuddered at the thought of seeing Michaela in the arms of any other man, regardless of whether or not she loved him.

"We woulda figured out someway to get out," Sully insisted, although he wasn't sure if it was necessarily true.

"That's part of the game, Mr. Sully. Didn't 'xpect Michaela to throw that tomahawk. Guess she was stronger than we all realized. Nice throw, Michaela."

"Don't you call her that!" Sully barked. Just as Michaela hated the sound of her name coming from Samuel's lips, Sully could not stand the sound of her name coming from Robert's. Her first name was sacred, something that was only used by her loved ones and friends and Sully intended to keep it that way.

"I knew I had to stay with ya'll and watch over ya," Robert continued, ignoring Sully's outburst.

"Why not take her back when she was dyin', then?"

"Got no need for a dyin' woman, Mr. Sully. I want 'em alive and ready ta work. Besides, it's much more fun watchin' ya squirm this way."

Michaela tried to concentrate on all that was being said but she was still so tired. She had read about cases in medical school where people went crazy after traumatic events. She had seen so many cases of it after the war but she had never known anyone to go as far as Samuel and Robert had. She knew that in their own minds, they thought they were doing something good. Thinking about it from a medical perspective, she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. From a personal perspective, she couldn't help but wish that Sully had killed Samuel when he had the chance.

"You ain't goin' anywhere with her," Sully stated.

"Ya didn't have the guts to kill my brother. A real man's gotta have guts, Mr. Sully. Like the guts it took me ta kill that crazy old doctor."

"Doc Hall? Ya killed Doc Hall?" Sully asked, suddenly feeling sorry that he had gotten the elderly gentlemen involved in the first place.

"When a man gets in your way, Mr. Sully, ya just gotta get rid of 'em. 'Course, ya wouldn't know 'bout that. Somethin' tells me that ya don't even have the guts to kill me."

"I ain't afraid to kill ya," Sully replied.

"You'll be hanged, Mr. Sully…for murder. Everyone in town will say that I was just tryin' to get back my brother's kidnapped wife."

"I don't care," Sully said calmly, his tomahawk in hand.

"Well, then ya kill me and my brother'll come and take Dr. Quinn here back with him as his wife and you'll be hanged and everythin' will be back ta normal."

"She ain't ever goin' back with ya!" Sully yelled, lunging towards the man.

Sully heard Michaela scream his name as he jumped at the man. The scream startled Robert and Sully managed to knock the gun from his hands. Michaela felt helpless as she watched them fight.

"Please!" Michaela cried but her cries did no good. The two men continued to fight, rolling around on the floor, throwing each other into the walls and on the floor. Michaela saw more punches thrown then she ever wished to.

As she tried to lift herself out of the bed, she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"Dr. Mike!" Matthew yelled, as he burst in the door. Jake and Hank followed him, guns in hand. Before Michaela knew what was going on, she heard a gun go off.

"Sully!" She cried, as the two men stopped fighting. Sully was below Robert, pinned to the floor. Neither Sully nor Robert moved. Michaela suddenly feared the worst.

Matthew ran over to Michaela, checking on her.

"Michaela," Sully whispered.

Jake and Hank lifted Robert off of Sully. Sully's shirt was soaked with blood.

"Sully!" Michaela screamed.

"I'm alright," he assured her. "I'm alright. Didn't get shot." Both Hank and Jake bent to help Sully to his feet. Michaela watched him drop the gun from his hand as he stood.

"Hafta say, Sully," Hank began, "mighty proud of ya for usin' a gun."

Sully ignored him and instead walked to Michaela bedside. He sat on the bed beside her and cradled her body as best he could without causing her pain.

"It's over," he said quietly, trying to sooth her sobs, even though tears ran down his own cheeks.

"What about Samuel?" She sobbed, barely getting the words out.

"Don't worry 'bout him," Matthew answered. "We got word to a marshal about him."

"What about the town? Won't they stick up for him?" Sully asked.

"Truth is, the town's been 'fraid of 'em both since their ma died. They were all afraid ta tell anyone about 'em for fear that Samuel and Robert would kill 'em. Marshal should be stoppin' by Samuel's house right 'bout now," Matthew explained.

"What if he runs?" Michaela asked.

"He won't," Sully answered. "He thinks he's smarter than everyone. He'll stay to play his game."

"It's over?" Michaela questioned.

"It's over," Sully replied.

"We'll ride inta Kansas City and tell the marshal to stop by here to pick up the body," Jake announced.

Sully nodded. "We gotta bury Doc Hall."

"We'll take care of it, Sully," Matthew decided.

"Thank you."

Hank grabbed Robert's feet and Jake grabbed his torso. Together, they brought the body outside and then grabbed nearby shovels to begin digging the grave for Doc Hall.

"Glad ta see you're doin' better, Dr. Mike," Matthew said.

"Thank you, Matthew," Michaela responded.

"Brian and Colleen were real worried about 'em. I'll send 'em a telegram from Kansas City. Let 'em know that everythin's alright."

"I'd like to go home," Michaela announced.

"You ain't well 'nough, yet. Besides, there ain't no doctor in town ta take care of ya," Sully reminded her.

She smiled. "In case you forgot, I am a doctor."

"Ya need ta get better 'fore we go off traipsing back ta Colorado Springs. We'll take ya to the hospital in Kansas City, see what the doctors say there," Sully argued.

"Sully…" she resisted.

"I think ya should listen to him, Dr. Mike. Won't do no one no good if we get ya back to Colorado Springs and ya start doin' worse."

Michaela nodded. "I can't argue with both of ya."

"Ya have in the past," Sully remarked.

"Matter of fact," Matthew said, "I seem to remember times when you argued with the whole town."

"Would ya like me ta start arguin' with ya?" She joked.

"No!" Matthew and Sully exclaimed together.

They all laughed.

"I'll get the wagon ready ta take ya to Kansas City, Dr. Mike," Matthew offered.

"Thank you, Matthew."

He began to walk out of the room but turned before he left.

"Dr. Mike?"

"Yes Matthew?"

"I just wanted…I just wanted to tell ya that I love ya."

"Oh, Matthew, I love you, too."

"And, I wanted to tell ya that…I 'preciate everythin' ya did for me and Brian and Colleen and that…that I'm sorry for the way that I treated ya when we first came to live with ya. I didn't wanna love ya but…but I do, Dr. Mike. You're the best ma we all coulda had."

Her eyes began to brim with happy tears. "Thank you, Matthew."

Sully nodded to him, giving him an approving look. Matthew nodded back and left the room. Michaela buried her head in Sully's chest.

"It's really over, isn't it, Sully?" She questioned.

"Yes," he replied. She sighed and fell asleep.

Michaela opened the door of the homestead and walked outside. She spotted Brian sitting under a nearby tree, working on his carving. She had been back for a week and no one really talked about what had happened. The children had asked her some questions when she returned but they were questions more geared towards how she was feeling and if she was going to be okay. The only people in town who knew what happened were Robert E, Grace, the reverend, Hank, and Jake. Everyone else just accepted the fact that Michaela was gone for so long helping a sick family. Michaela hadn't opened the clinic yet, wanting to wait until the bruising on her body went down so that people wouldn't ask too many questions. She figured that she could explain her broken shoulder by telling them she got into an accident with the wagon. Everyone in town just seemed to think that she was recovering from a long week with a sick family.

Colleen walked out of the chicken coop with a basket of eggs in hand. She waved to Michaela as she headed to the barn to begin milking the cows. Michaela waved back and couldn't help but smile. She noticed that she looked at her children more than she ever had before. Of course she always looked at them but she found herself staring at them more, taking in every feature so that she would never forget them. A few times they had caught her staring at them and asked if she was alright. She knew that she was more than alright.

"Sully!" Brian exclaimed as Sully walked over to the boy. Michaela couldn't help but smile when she saw him, too.

"Hey Brian," Sully replied.

Brian lifted his small wooden carving to Sully. "Don't look much like a wolf, does it, Sully?"

"It will," Sully said, "with practice. Ya just gotta keep tryin'."

"How'd you get so good at carvin'? Brian questioned.

"I worked hard practicin'."

"Think I'll get as good at carvin' as you?"

"I think you'll be better than me," Sully answered, which made Brian smile.

Sully tousled Brian's hair as Matthew walked out of the barn and over to Sully and Brian.

"Sully," Matthew said.

"Matthew."

The men shook hands. Sully had never realized how much he had relied on and needed Matthew. Even though Matthew was still young, he was one of Sully's best friends. Sully felt a certain connection to him. Matthew understood him and Sully understood Matthew, as well. Their connection could only be explained as being father and son.

"Sully says I can get real good at carvin'," Brian announced to his brother.

"Sure ya can if ya work hard," Matthew replied.

"Sully's been helpin' me."

"You're getting' better already," Matthew responded.

"I'm gonna go say hi to your ma," Sully said, walking away.

Brian watched as Sully walked. He saw Michaela's face light up as Sully approached and he couldn't help but smile seeing how happy Michaela was when Sully was around.

"You were right, Matthew," Brian said.

"Oh yeah, 'bout what?"

"'Bout ma not changin'. I was afraid that after she got better, she'd be different but she didn't change at all even though she got hurt, just like ya said."

Matthew smiled at the innocence of his brother.

"I told you ya had nothin' to worry 'bout." He pat Brian on the back and walked back to the barn.

Sully walked over to where Michaela stood, her smile growing bigger with every step she took. As he approached, she took the few steps down off the front porch and she placed her free hands in his. Her broken shoulder was wrapped up in a sling, not allowing her to use her arm. She was lucky that the bullet had hit the same shoulder that was broken so she at least had the use of one arm.

"Ya wanna go for a walk?" Sully asked her.

She nodded and they began walking off together.

"Feels so good to be home," she said as they walked slowly, Sully's arm wrapped protectively around her back.

"Yes, it does," Sully agreed.

They walked a little further in silence.

"Sully…"

"Mmm?"

"He didn't hurt me," she said quickly. Sully stopped walking and he turned to face her.

She had been thinking of telling him that for the week since she had been home but she never found the right time. She knew that he said he didn't care either way but she had to tell him. As she told him, she thought back to when he asked her that same question after she was abducted by the dog soldiers and she suddenly knew why he needed to know. Most importantly, she knew that it didn't mean that he didn't love her any less.

"He didn't?" She shook her head. "You didn't have to tell me."

"Yes I did," she replied. "Even if he had hurt me…I would have to tell you because I love you too much not to tell you. And I know now that it doesn't mean that you love me any less."

He leaned over and kissed her passionately. When their kiss ended, they stayed close to one another, leaving their foreheads touching.

"Michaela…"

"Yes?"

"Right before you woke up, I asked myself…I asked myself what I would do if I never met you…"

"You can't think about the past," Michaela interrupted, repeating the same exact words he had said to her the day of their picnic. "You can't go through life wondering what if or it'll just ruin what's right in front of you."

He smiled.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too."

They kissed, knowing that whatever happened to them, they could only love each other more.

Author's Note:

I just want to say that this was my first attempt at a Dr. Quinn fanfiction and I have never been more in love with writing a story in my entire life. This is probably the fastest story I've ever written. It took me about 10 days (which I know, seems like a lot but it was over Christmas) and I just had so much fun doing it. A big thanks to Dr. Quinn in general for getting me back into writing because it was a favorite pastime that I had sense forgotten. Dr. Quinn has been my saving grace recently and I just hope that I did it justice. Please, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of it. Hopefully this will be the first of many!


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